It was a moment that Israel's left and right had both been waiting for. The ascent of Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is our home) party into the corridors of power was the cue for pantomime cries of "victory", "sell out", "business as usual" and "fascism" to bloom across the country's political desert.

While the "sell out" shrieks from Lieberman's far-right bedfellows were feebly predictable, the "fascism" alarm call from veteran peace activist Uri Avnery was a more serious matter. It may circulate around the left for as long as his last such heads-up about Gush Emunim before disengagement, or the one a few months later about Israeli army officers after Lebanon. Indeed, Azmi Bishara, the leader of the Balad party, has already taken up the call.

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