Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Us

At the very beginning of Creation we are taught about the very distinct roles, functions and duties that are ascribed to the sun and the moon. "The greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night"; and were these diverse roles to be reversed or confused,the inevitable result would be totally

cataclysmic.

In our small country we are blessed with two distinguished gentlemen, one Binyamin Netanyahu, elected as prime minister by popular vote, and Shimon Peres, chosen by a Knesset selection process, to fill the presidential office. Not only is the process of choosing them so clearly different, but they differ even more in the definition of the roles prescribed for them by their positions of leadership. Prime Minister Netanyahu has been chosen to be the CEO of Israel, the one who is responsible for all the major decisions affecting the well being of our citizens, as reflected in our country's domestic and foreign policies, while that of whomever was picked to be president, was to be essentially honorary but nevertheless quite important. The president can fill the very crucial role as Israel's ambassador of goodwill to the international community and as a wise and kind grandfather figure to Israel's populace. Shimon Peres fulfills these two tasks with dignity and distinction and well deserves the respect he garners for himself and Israel from many of the dominant leaders of the world. He also enjoys the adulation of most of Israel's citizens.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has the much tougher job. He must be tireless and unrelenting in his discharging the awesome burden of responsibility demanded of him by his office.The daily concerns for all the country's needs are his to bear.In addition to those concerns,he must deal intelligently, firmly and effectively with the reality of the continuous threats against our existence.He must delicately weigh our very serious security worries in the midst of the sea of hatred that surrounds us. He is charged with making these decisions, and he cannot and should not permit unauthorized persons to contradict or compete in this most critical task. It is my belief that Binyamin Netanyahu is deserving of our admiration.

A democratic government cannot tolerate a situation where its elected prime minister rejects "Abbas's call for a 2-state solution on '67 lines" while its president lauds it. This is not merely a matter of petty technicality or protocol. This is one of the very core issues of the Palestinian-Israel conflict. The majority of our citizens in their election of Netanyahu, side with the stance, that for Israel to return to the '67 borders would be suicidal. In the words of Abba Eban -- the "borders of Auschwitz."

In addition, I believe that Shimon Peres is grossly in error in his assessment of Abbas as a man of peace and courage. His characterization of Abbas is based, perhaps understandably, on wishful thinking rather than on substance or record. Not only is Abbas one of the leading Holocaust deniers, he persists in his attempts to wipe out any trace of our historical connection with our ancient Homeland. He continues to hero-ize terrorists and his teachers and imams continue to teach and preach it. He incessantly condemns us in the UN and he time and again attempts to unite with Hamas in Gaza ,who not only bombard our southern communities with rockets, but continue to echo their Iranian allies in their call for the elimination of Israel.

[Image credit: World Economic Forum]