May 10, 2012 | 6:52 am

Confused about the New Unity Government in Israel? Read this!

Posted by Rabbi John Rosove

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Bernie Avishai writes on Open Zion on The Daily Beast about what Prime Minister Netanyahu’s and new Kadima leader Mofaz’s merger in the government might mean.

It is certainly sly political maneuvering on both sides, and it might give Bibi a way to avoid challenging the authority of the Supreme Court on the one hand and at the same time sidelining Leiberman’s Russian right-wing Yisrael Bateinu party as well as extremist religious and settler parties. Everything will depend, of course, on what the real deal is with Mofaz (i.e. what he will get out of joining the governing coalition) and whether Bibi wants to make history as a peace maker.

Mofaz is a former Defense Minister, and he says he wants progress with the peace effort and the Palestinians. Now that the voice of Bibi’s father has passed into Eternity, will the Prime Minister be released from his father’s ideological fundamentalist extremism to be the practical politician many say he is?

Once again, Israel is ever-dynamic, interesting and democratic.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/08/netanyahu-s-globalists.html

PS – For those of you living in Los Angeles, next Wednesday, May 16 at 7 PM at Temple Israel of Hollywood (my synagogue) we will welcome Peter Beinart in his ONLY Los Angeles appearance as he enters into dialogue with David Suissa, the President of the Los Angeles Jewish Journal and founder of Olam Magazine.

Peter Beinart is the political editor of The Daily Beast, the former editor of the New Republic Magazine, and the author of the controversial book The Crisis of Zionism.

President Bill Clinton has said that those who care about the future security, democracy and peace of Israel, should read this book! The book has been both praised and vilified, as has Beinart himself.

The evening will be sponsored by Temple Israel of Hollywood and the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, and co-sponsored by 5 sister synagogues – Temple Emanuel, Temple Isaiah, Ikar, Beit Chayim Chaddashim, and Kol Ami. All are welcome. Come early.

The entire event will be live-streamed on the Jewish Journal Web-site.