Submitted by Dave Levy, May 29, 2007 22:25

None of this should be especially shocking to those of us who follow Israeli politics.

Consider what has happened since Bibi was last P.M. and it is apparent why his rebirth.

Israel's situation is bleak. The withdrawal from Lebanon after so many years of occupation by the IDF, led to Hezbollah's arming itself with 12,000 rockets, 4200 of which were fired into Israel last summer, an act of war by Lebanon. Now they have purporedly over 20,000 by their count. The disengagement similarly was a disaster for Israel. While it freed the IDF to fight other places, it created havoc for the 8,000 so-called settlers, many still unemployed, or underemployed. People are still seeking permanent shelter. The IDF should have remained in my opinion, if not the settlers.

Over 1,200 Kassam rockets (crude but lethal), fallen on southern Israel and the Western Negev sincethe disengagment. Hamas was elected the governing body, and moderate Arabs have been side-swiped.

Syria and Iran are embolden. Europe is more anti-Semtic than since WW2, and showing their true colors which have never really changed. Once a Jew hater, always a Jew hater. The British, who aided Hitler's extermination of 6m Jews by the White Paper closing Palestine to the Jews of Europe, are now increasingly boycotting Israeli institutions, blaming it for all of the Palestinian ills, and seemingly not noticing or not caring about Palestinian violence both internally and against the Jewish state.

So, with all the above, and the Winograds generalizations about Israel's leaders, who else on that scene was the obvious choice for the P.M.? I suppose that if Sharon were well, he would regain his title., but his era is over.

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