Herzog Slams 'SpongeBob' Netanyahu, Vows to Promote Arab Initiative for Peace

Jerusalem, 16 June, 2016 (TPS) -- Herzliya (TPS) – Opposition leader and chairman of the Zionist Union faction Isaac Herzog bashed right-wing members of government on Thursday at the 2016 Herzliya Conference and made the case for a broad regional reconciliation via moderate Arab countries – which he described as an “informal Sunni Arab version of NATO” – within the framework of the two-state solution with the Palestinians.

“We finally have a rightist government – a rightist prime minister, a rightist defense minister, and a rightist education minister. I thought we got a bunch of superheroes,” Herzog said derisively. “Instead we got SpongeBob SquarePants leaders.”

“Now there’s no ‘Oslo criminal’ stopping the heroes of the right from beating terror, annihilating terror, thwarting terror, crushing terror, dismantling terror,” Herzog mocked the aggressive rhetoric of his right-wing rivals. “And if you have any other strong words describing this agenda you may send them to the inbox of Naftali ‘Batman’ Bennett and ‘Popeye’ Liberman,” he added, referring to tough-talking Education Minister Naftali Bennett and recently-appointed Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.

Drifting away from jest, Herzog referred to a “unique opportunity” created by a shifting of regional alliances that put Israel’s interests in line with those of local Arab governments.

“Moderate arab nations are coalescing into a kind of informal Sunni Arab version of NATO in the Middle East that identifies the same threats that Israel does,” Herzog said. “Unlike the previous generation, today many of the Sunni leaders suffer less from what I call an ‘Israel complex’ that their predecessors had.”

“The notion that a group of moderate Arab states are willing to politically engage with Israel by way of a regional initiative is a unique opportunity,” Herzog added.

Herzog was followed at the conference by the Jordanian and Egyptian ambassadors to Israel, who both spoke out in favor of the Arab Peace Initiative, originally put forth by Saudi Arabia in 2002. The Arab plan proposes an Israeli retreat to the borders before the 1967 war, along with the establishment of a Palestinian state and the normalizing of relations between Israel and the Arab world.

“In our opinion, the Arab peace initiative stands as the master of all initiatives,” Jordan’s ambassador to Israel, Walid Obeidat, said.

In recent months, both Netanyahu and Liberman spoke favorably about the Arab Initiative, saying it contained “positive elements.” Several weeks ago, Herzog was close to joining the government, though Netanyahu instead chose the right-wing Liberman, whom he appointed as defense minister.

Herzog derided the move as politically motivated and reckless.

“Netanyahu preferred considerations of political survival that are narrow and dangerous, and established a super right-wing government,” he said.

Herzog also cautioned Israeli leaders to “be wary of bombastic words, insinuations about the politics of our neighbors,” explaining that “words can accidentally set a fire ablaze.”

In the effort to revive the two-state solution, Herzog said the plan could begin “in the immediate future.”

“I and my partners in the Zionist Union will continue our efforts to strive for and actualize the vision for the two-state solution based upon this regional opportunity, which can be started in the immediate future,” he said. “With daring and courageous leadership, we will be able to realize an opportunity for a better future for our children.”