Israel's News & Views BlogYesterday, September 30th, I celebrated my 62nd birthday; and amid all the fanfare and well wishes from family and friends, I discovered on the news that another person, a well known one, also celebrated his 62nd as well. In case any of you are wondering just who that well known person is, he is none other than Israel’s “illustrious” prime minister, Ehud Olmert. Mr. Olmert took advantage of the ongoing Sukkoth festival to celebrate his coming into the world with a festive reception in a large sukkah that had been erected near the Knesset in Jerusalem. As all observant Jews are aware, God commanded the Children of Israel to build these booths, and “to dwell within them” for eight days every year to commemorate the 40 year period of wandering in the wilderness of Sinai. Olmert took the occasion to thank everyone for their support during a most trying year; and he promised that he would be present again in this very place next year to again commemorate the festival.
Another year of Olmert? Is this supposed to be a blessing, or something else altogether? Mr. Olmert’s good feelings were noted over the weekend in the media, when more than one article mentioned the prime minister’s ability to ward off public criticism, and to delay the publishing of the final Winograd Report, which is supposed to add additional insight into Olmert’s responsibility for steering our country into what turned out to be a truly disastrous war with Lebanon; and which began in the first place as a response to the capture of two Israel reserve solders’ whose fate and whereabouts are still unknown to this day.
I don’t want to use this occasion to begin to note all of the problems that the Prime Minister still faces; including a number of financial related misdeeds that he is alleged to be involved in. Doing so would surely spoil the good feelings I had yesterday in regards to celebrating my own special day; and it might even make me choke on what’s left of the chocolate cake that was presented to me in my honor. Enough has already been said about Mr. Olmert’s complex problems, and his final day of reckoning has yet to come. Being prime minister, Mr. Olmert still has to deal with a number of very sensitive and problematic issues, including further deteriorating relations between and the Gaza part of the Palestinians, and a possible large scale military incursion by IDF soldiers into Gaza to try to put a stop to the launching of Qassam rockets into Israel once and for all.
Olmert didn’t attend the recent opening of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, and it’s probably better that he didn’t. This is because he seems to make the wrong statements most of the time; and doing so before the World Body would have made him even more an object of ridicule than he already is.
Bearing all of this in mind, we might all go ahead and wish him well; as well as wish that someone better qualified will replace him as soon as possible. We can hopefully wish his successor a most happy and successful year at the next Sukkoth Festival holiday. And at that time, I’ll be able to celebrate my next birthday without having to compete with so “worthy” a person whose birthday just happens to fall on the same day as my own.
In the meantime, he can have some of my chocolate cake.
2 Comments
Nicely written! Personally, I’m a big fan of Bibi…I think we need someone from Likud to restore the safety and the pride back to Israel. Bibi wouldn’t negotiate away our land and Jerusalem, nor would he allow rockets to be fired daily at Sderot. I daven daily for a change to be made. Nice blogsite!
Hey Maurice,
Many happy returns! I also hope you won’t have to share your cake with Olmert next year.
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