Tuesday, June 30, 2020

New pro-sovereignty ad campaign asks: 'Will Netanyahu be like Churchill - or Chamberlain

A pro-sovereignty lobby group has unveiled a new advertising campaign calling on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to apply “full and effective sovereignty” over Judea and Samaria and not commit to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
 
The Regavim organization, which recently launched it “History Awaits” campaign, debuted a new ad Tuesday, calling sovereignty the landmark issue which will determine the legacy of Israel’s longest serving premier.
 
“Will he apply full and effective sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and go down in the history books alongside such visionary leaders as the great Winston Churchill, who led Britain to a glorious victory over the Nazis during World War II, or will he be remembered as the man behind the plan leading to the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state in Israel’s heartland, and be relegated to the pages of history reserved for defeatists and appeasers like Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister who signed the infamous Munich agreement, buckling under to the Nazis and bringing his nation, all of Europe, and the free world nothing but death and destruction in exchange for empty promises of ‘peace in our time’?”
 
Regavim’s most recent ad is the latest in a campaign, launched last week on buses, billboards and newspaper ads, featuring various well-known figures and events that have shaped the Israeli collective consciousness.
 
“The choice is clear: Netanyahu must decide if he will be remembered as the leader who brought Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley under Israeli sovereignty after half a century of indecision and erosion of our national narrative, or as the man who made the establishment of a Palestinian terror state in the heart of the country possible,” Regavim said in a statement Tuesday.
 
Other ads in the campaign placed Yoni Netanyahu, the prime minister’s brother, opposite Dan Halutz, David Ben Gurion opposite Ariel Sharon, and Geula Cohen opposite Shulamit Aloni.
 
Regavim’s message has been somewhat nuanced since the roll-out of the deal of the century: “President Trump is a great friend of Israel, but this plan should not be referred to as ‘the Trump Plan’ but as ‘the Netanyahu Plan’ – because Prime Minister Netanyahu alone will determine what the actual plan will look like. Will this be a plan for finally applying Israeli sovereignty to the historic heartland of the Jewish homeland, or a plan to establish a Palestinian state?,” said Meir Deutsch, Director General of Regavim.
 
“The ads that comprise Regavim’s campaign contain a very direct and straightforward message to Prime Minister Netanyahu: History will judge how you will be remembered - as a courageous leader or as a defeatist appeaser. It's in your hands.”
 
Regavim’s spokesperson stressed that this campaign does not take issue with the ‘deal of the century’; the question is not whether the “Vision for Peace to Prosperity” is good or bad.
 The question lies in the details of the plan’s implementation: Will the next step be the application of sovereignty over Judea and Samaria or the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria.