Aaron Lerner: Does Bibi want to think out of the box, or in a box alone

It is great that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wants to "think outside the box".

The concern is who will he be thinking with?

Of course, there is a problem with sharing the details of sensitive negotiations with the entire cabinet (someone stepping out to the bathroom in the middle of the meeting would probably leak the details to a reporter so that the information would be out in the media before the meeting even
ended).

Netanyahu has the advantage of having already developed his special team of seven ministers for discussing strategic matters.

But he cancelled the meeting he was supposed to hold with them before leaving for D.C..

He says he will come to the cabinet when there are decisions to be made, but that could mean he will only come to them when he can say: "I already passed this by Presidents Obama and Mubarak as well as the pretty much everyone else in the world and now I am asking you if you want to stop what I have already essentially agreed to and bring hell on earth to Israel or will you guys do the right thing and just shut up and join me for the ride?"

Sure, in the absence of the team of seven ministers he has some people working with him who might be let in on the secrets, but in all due respect, there is a very real possibility that they opt to be yes men to the boss since "my way or the highway" can most definitely apply to team members while pulling the same stunt on Begin or others in the seven would have serious immediate political ramifications.

So stand by for announcements of meetings of the seven between now and the upcoming photo op in Sharm.

If Mr. Netanyahu doesn't find the time to met with them for some serious discussion time then there may be definite cause for concern.


CABINET COMMUNIQUE
(Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat)

At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), 5.9.10:

1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks:

"First of all, a Happy New Year to all. We stand here with apples and honey
and I hope that this also reflects our ability to bring about a good,
blessed and - it is possible to say - a sweet year for the Jewish People.
Certainly, great missions are before us, first of all the ability to move
forward and achieve a genuine and secure peace process.

On Friday, I returned from Washington, from the first round of direct peace
talks with Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen. I would like to thank
US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, [former]
Senator George Mitchell and the entire US administration team, both for the
heart-felt hospitality and mainly for the important role they played, and
are playing, in moving the process forward. I would like to also thank
Egyptian President Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah II, both for
participating in the event and for their consistent willingness to advance
the peace process between us and the Palestinians and - I would say -
between us and the entire Arab world. Even if there are important countries
in the Arab world that have yet to line up behind the peace process, my
impression is the willingness of President Mubarak and King Abdullah to
attend, despite the attacks, reflects a sense of readiness that exists in
the Arab world, that this is the time to try and complete a peace settlement
between us and the Palestinians and to expand it into a broader cycle of
peace. In my estimation, this sense stems both from an understanding of the
significance of the alternatives and from the recognition that they simply
must make peace with Israel.

After one and a half years, in which I called for direct talks without
pre-conditions, I had, in Washington, the chance to hold a long, private
talk with Abu Mazen. I very much hope that this conversation and the others
that will come will allow us to open a direct, continuous and reliable link,
which is essential to our ability to formulate a peace settlement between
our two peoples. I proposed that we meet for such a private talk every two
weeks, in which we would discuss the main issues on the agenda vis-à-vis a
peace settlement, because I believe that what is currently necessary to move
the process forward is not a plethora of teams, but decisions by leaders. I
believe that the start of the Washington talks was an important step en
route to a framework agreement between us and the Palestinians. We are
aware of the difficulties. They are still before us, both in the short- and
medium-term, but we will continue with our efforts to reach an agreement.

As I said in my [14.6.09] Bar-Ilan University speech, the anchors for peace
are recognition of the State of Israel as the national state of the Jewish
People, recognition of our historic link to our homeland, an end to the
conflict with us and an end to claims, and practical security measures on
the ground that are in keeping with the new reality that has been created
here in the past decade and which we will face in the coming decade as well.
These security procedures will ensure that there will be no repetition of
what occurred after we left Lebanon and Gaza.

I made it clear in Washington, as I said on the day that this Government was
established, that Israel is completely committed to peace. I think that we
have already proven that we are ready to go a long way in order to reach
peace. But this time, in order to succeed, we will need to study the
lessons of the seventeen-year effort at negotiations and to embrace original
thinking, to think outside the box as it were. We will need to think
creatively, and in new ways, about how to resolve complex problems. In
order to reach practical solutions, we will need to think about new
solutions to old problems. I believe that this is possible. I am willing
to achieve an historic compromise with our Palestinian neighbors so long as
it maintains the national interests of the State of Israel with security
first and foremost. I also express my hope that Palestinian [Authority]
President Abu Mazen will continue on this path with me in the face of the
tests and challenges that await us even now. We will continue to work so
that together we may reach the common goal of peace, security and prosperity
for Israelis and Palestinians.

I would like to wish the Government and people of Israel a good, sweet,
secure and peaceful year, a year of security and peace."

2. Prime Minister Netanyahu briefed ministers on his trip to, and meeting
in, the US regarding the direct negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians.

3. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz briefed ministers on the state of the
Israeli economy.

4. Pursuant to Article 3(c) of Basic Law: The Army and in accordance with
the recommendation of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the Cabinet decided to
appoint Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant as the IDF Chief-of-Staff, effective 14.2.11.

Lt.-Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi will complete his duties as Chief-of-Staff upon
Maj.-Gen. Galant's entry into the office.


5. Pursuant to Article 2(a) of the 2002 Arts and Culture Law and in
accordance with the recommendation of Culture and Sports Minister Limor
Livnat, the Cabinet appointed four members to the National Council for
Culture and the Arts.

6. Pursuant to Article 7(a) of the 1990 Second Authority for Television and
Radio Law and in accordance with the recommendation of Communications
Minister Moshe Kahlon, the Cabinet appointed Ilan Avisar as a member and
acting Chairman of the Second Authority for Television and Radio Council.

--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il