2006年VOA标准英语-Israeli Political Turmoil After the War in Leba

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington, DC
29 August 2006
 
watch report Israeli Politics

The inconclusive end to the recent war in Lebanon has shaken Israeli confidence in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.  VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports the political result for Mr. Olmert also may be uncertain.

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Member of Israeli Knesset being ejected from parliament   
  
Three members of the Israeli Knesset were recently ejected from parliament for heckling during a speech by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.  A public opinion survey by the country's largest newspaper (Yediot Aharonot) indicates 63 percent of those polled want Mr. Olmert to resign.  

 
Mira Slasky
  
Mira Slasky is the mother of a soldier who died in the conflict with Hezbollah. "The situation in the country is desperate and we would like to change all our leadership. We feel that they all failed, all of them have to go home from the prime minister to the chiefs of the army, everyone has to go home."

Prime Minister Olmert and Defense¹ Minister Amir Peretz had little military experience before the war in Lebanon. They are being blamed for a number of failures during the conflict.  

 
Uri Dromi
  
Uri Dromi is a political analyst² with the Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem. He says people are frustrated³. "Right now people are very frustrated and people feel, especially the reservists who came back from the front, they feel that they were misled.  There was no consistency⁴, lack of leadership, zigzagging⁵, a lot of flaws in the preparation for the ground operation."

Many reserve soldiers are publicly expressing their complaints about the government.  Paul Scham is an Israeli analyst with the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. He says reservists play a traditional role in Israeli politics.

Paul Scham  
  
"Unlike virtually every other country, most Israeli men are reserve soldiers, many of them reserve officers, some of them with fairly high ranks.  So these are people who in their army duties are soldiers, but in real life are people who play a political role and are very willing to do so."

Scham notes that protests by soldiers helped bring down the government of Prime Minister Golda Meir after the 1973 Middle East war.  But he says there is no consensus⁶ among Israelis for a replacement⁷ to Ehud Olmert. 

Uri Dromi of the Israel Democracy Institute agrees. "I think people are frustrated, but there is no alternative right now, so we don't see early elections here in the cards.  And I also see a prospect⁸ for Olmert to regain⁹ some of his credibility if he takes upon himself the awesome¹⁰ task of reconstructing the north."

Prime Minister Olmert has authorized¹¹ a public inquiry¹² into the conduct of the Lebanon war. 

Paul Scham of the Middle East Institute says the investigation¹³ will help dispel¹⁴ much of the anger that has accumulated in Israel over the conflict.  He adds that Israel's domestic political turmoil¹⁵ does not mean the country is falling apart.

"And so, the political bloodletting that's going on is a democratic symptom.  It's not that people don't feel it. It's just that people see no reason to moderate their voices.  So if there is a feeling that, therefore, Israel is losing its resolve, I think that would be very dangerous for everyone to conclude from seeing the current political climate."

The investigation Mr. Olmert has authorized is not enough for some critics. Many people advocate the creation of a state commission with the power to dismiss members of government.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

5 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

6 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

7 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

10 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

11 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

12 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

15 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。