rising above

I am not a particular fan of Ehud Olmert. He is certainly no charismatic leader. But he is smart, and I believe he sees clearly exactly where his country fits into the current geopolitical stew.

It is absolutely clear that Israel will have to make some visible concessions in the very near future. The first of these is for Israel to “show restraint”—even when it’s unfair.

Yes. That’s how it is when you are the stronger party. And that’s how he’s playing it.

Olmert “gave the security forces instructions to show restraint and to try and give the cease-fire the possibility to succeed,” said Miri Eisin, Olmert’s spokeswoman.

“Israel is a strong country which can allow itself to have the strength to both fight and also to show restraint and to give the cease-fire a chance to be implemented,” Eisin quoted Olmert as saying.

Not that there aren’t gains to be realized from this stance, because there are—such as recapturing some moral high ground.