New reigning champion

“A record beater with nothing to show” (July 15) asks, “Despite more than 13 years in office, what has PM accomplished?” This question can and should attract a most detailed response. However, let’s keep it simple. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the face of Israel on the world scene, has projected and promoted Israel as a nation worthy of sitting at the top table.

He has also nurtured numerous contacts with many countries both from the first and third world, garnering highly successful diplomatic assets and trade contracts.

Lastly but not least he showed one president of the USA that we will not look the other way and remain silent when decisions instituted in a most arbitrary way might well affect our actual security. With that one’s successor he immediately instigated with a close relationship the moving of its embassy to our capital Jerusalem and recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Yes, love him or hate him or anything in between, a more dedicated front man for Israel will be a hard act to follow – and until then, long may he reign.

STEPHEN VISHNICK

Tel Aviv

Jeff Barak’s latest column is insulting not only to your readers but also to the Israeli electorate as a whole.

One can argue whether or not Prime Minister Netanyahu should continue in office or whether or not you agree with his domestic or security policies, but one cannot seriously contend that over the course of his tenure he has accomplished nothing. The economy has been strong throughout his tenure; relations with the Arab world and many countries in Africa, South America and Asia have improved tremendously; and relations with the United States have never been closer.

But the most ludicrous portion of Barak’s column is to claim that Ehud Barak accomplished more in his very brief tenure as prime minister than Netanyahu has in the past ten years. Yes, Ehud Barak pulled us out of Lebanon but in such a helter-skelter way as to empower Hezbollah. He totally abandoned the South Lebanon Army, our allies who suffered terribly as a result of Israel’s abandonment.

He negotiated in such a poor way with Yasser Arafat that his own foreign minister was quoted as saying that it is not that Barak has no red lines but that he constantly crosses them. Moreover, his policies vis a vis the Palestinians led directly to the Second Intifada.

Finally, Jeff Barak wants us to believe that Ehud Barak is as clean as a whistle. No mention of the amutot affair in connection with the 1999 election when one of his chief aides refused to answer police questions; no mention of the $2.3 million Barak received from The Wexner Foundation allegedly for research when no one else ever received such a sum from that foundation; and of course his business ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

It’s one thing to make a case that Bibi doesn’t deserve reelection, it’s another thing to insult our intelligence by saying that Ehud Barak accomplished more as prime minister. Some columns are better left unpublished.

BARRY EISENBERG

Jerusalem

I would remind Jeff Barak that Ehud Barak did not successfully put an end to “Israel’s ‘misguided’ almost two-decade long occupation of South Lebanon.” In fact, Barak left Lebanon in the dead of night like a thief, leaving behind tanks and equipment that were made use of by our enemies, and even left behind prayer books. A humiliating rout if ever there was one.

The proof of his failure is that today Hezbollah controls Lebanon and they have thousands of rockets aimed at all parts of our land. They have cross-border attack tunnels and even though our military believes we have destroyed them, there is no guarantee of that or that more will not be built ready for infiltration into our land.

When a leadership leaves its enemy intact, as happened with Hezbollah as well as with Hamas, which has been allowed to grow stronger, there can be no “successful end.”

EDITH OGNALL Netanya