Israel cannot elect Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu prime minister after the United States voted for president-elect Barack Obama, because of the differences in their views on the Middle East conflict and economic issues, Labor and Kadima MKs charged Wednesday in the wake of Obama's victory.
Netanyahu made a point of being the first Israeli politician to congratulate Obama, sending him a telegram telling him that he was "looking forward to working closely with him to take a fresh look at the problems of the region and to find new ideas to help build a better and hopeful future for all of us."
Advisers to Netanyahu boasted about the successful meetings between the two men that led to Obama introducing legislation for sanctions on Iran a week after they met two years ago, and showing enthusiasm for Netanyahu's plan for building the Palestinian economy when they met in Jerusalem in July.
But Labor and Kadima MKs said that Netanyahu was "too much of a Republican" to get along with Democrat Obama. They warned that electing Netanyahu in the February 10 general election would be a recipe for deteriorating ties between Israel and its closest ally in the world.
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni hinted at Netanyahu when she warned that "if Israel puts itself in a corner and is seen as rejecting diplomatic processes, we could enter an era that is worse than the current one."
"It would be a missed opportunity if we elect Netanyahu," Labor MK Ophir Paz-Pines said. "Netanyahu's English is fluent, but they still won't understand each other. Obama will try to advance the peace process from day one, and he can do it, because he has more trust from the Arab world than his predecessor.
"Then Netanyahu would say no to the Saudi peace plan, no to dividing Jerusalem, no to withdrawing from the Golan. That's why it's so important that the center-Left bloc win our election."
Paz-Pines's Labor colleague, Education Minister Yuli Tamir, added that "Israel and the world cannot move in different directions. The world is going social-democratic and pursuing peace, so Israel cannot choose capitalism and defensive attitudes rejecting diplomatic dialogue."
Netanyahu strategist Ronnie Rimon responded that there was "good chemistry between the two men and similar worldviews about advancing peace in ways that have not failed in the past."
Likud MK Reuven Rivlin accused the Left of misusing Obama's victory as an excuse for false attacks against Netanyahu.
"The Left is [being] patronizing by trying to make it look like Obama is their patron," Rivlin said.
