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The
recent dissolution of the National Unity Government
in Israel should not come as a surprise to anyone
closely following the Israeli political scene. The
reason the unity government lasted so long was that
it was comfortable for all parties involved. By keeping
his opposing political party under his government
umbrella Prime Minister Sharon was granted with a
much-needed degree of legitimacy in both internal
and external politics. On the other hand, Labour party
cabinet members found political relevance in their
participation in Sharon's government where, otherwise,
their lack of ability to provide Israelis with an
alternative national strategy would have consumed
their few remaining political credits among Israeli
voters. Israeli democracy will sorely be tested in
the weeks to come, and to pass this test a bold, peace
oriented leadership must step forward.
The
resignation of Binyamin Ben Eliezer, head of the Labour
party and the former Defense Minister had nothing
to do with the budget or the funding of the settlements.
During the course of the coalition Labour ministers
did not lift a finger against the funding and expansion
of the settlements, which took place at an alarming
rate. Ben Eliezer, as Defense Minister, did absolutely
nothing to stop the violent actions of the settlers
preventing Palestinians from harvesting their olives
(a crucial source of income for entire villages, especially
in light of the horrid economic conditions within
the Occupied Territories), or the fatal attacks of
settlers against Palestinian farmers. Even the widely
reported removal of one of the illegal outposts (a
strange choice of words, considering the fact that
all of the settlements are illegal) was more of a
public relation stunt than anything substantial, meant
to toss sand into the eyes of the Israeli public and
the world.
The
real reason for the resignation (and the removal of
a few illegal outposts in the Occupied Territories)
is to be found in the internal party politics of the
Labour party, and the upcoming Labour party primaries
on November 19th. Ben Eliezer felt that by resigning,
he would stand a better chance of being re-elected
to head the party. The resignation leaves Sharon with
a minority government, and he is now seeking partners
for his coalition among the far right parties and
the former Chief of Staff Mofaz as his Defense Minister.
Sharon himself would most likely prefer to act as
Defense Minister, but the official Commission of Enquiry
into Sharon's actions and responsibility during the
Sabra and Shatilla massacre in Lebanon ruled that
Sharon cannot serve as Defense Minister. Should he
attempt to do so, it is likely that the Supreme Court
would rule against such a move. If a right wing coalition
is indeed formed, the true political objectives of
Sharon will at last become fully apparent to both
the Israeli public and the world community. Indeed,
as the conservative and senior Israeli journalist
Nahum Barnea, has recently noted, it is the settlers
and their leaders that are actually dictating Israeli
policy, not the elected government. This will become
even more apparent in the coming months.
But
the Labour party resignation is also an opportunity
for the parliamentary Left in Israel to regroup and
to show leadership from the opposition benches. It
is an opportunity for Labour to redefine itself, and
to present a truly alternative political and social
agenda. As it stands today, the Labour party is no
more than a pale reflection of its former self, with
little to distinguish it from the Likud. Today
there is a chance, albeit slight, for the party to
serve as a focal point for the parliamentary Left.
Labour will certainly find it easy to attack Sharon,
who has not managed to provide security or peace,
as he promised during his election campaign. They
will certainly be able to expose Sharon's true intentions
- increasing expansion of the illegal settlements,
brutal treatment and humiliation of the Palestinian
people, the destruction of the Palestinian Authority
and any chance to reach a fair settlement with the
Palestinians. They will be able to expose what Sharon
meant when he said that he was "ready for painful
compromise" - that both the pain and the compromise
as far as Sharon was concerned would be on the part
of the Palestinians, not Israel, as former Foreign
Minister Peres used to joke. They will be able to
expose the investment of at least 800 million US dollars
in the settlements for the 2003 fiscal year (MK Mossi
Raz of Meretz has found at least 400 million US dollars
directly committed to the settlements within the 2003
budget, with a similar sum hidden under various expenditures,
not to mention the cost to the defense budget in guarding
these settlements) at the expense of a collapsing
economy, the unemployed and the disenfranchised.
In
the days and months ahead, the Labour party and the
Israeli Left are at what could be an historical crossroad.
The real question is whether the Labour party is able
and capable of taking advantage of the changes of
the past week and rise above petty internal politics
and to present an alternative leadership to the Israeli
people - a leadership dedicated towards moving forward
in an attempt to reach a political solution to the
problems at hand, and to finally end the brutal and
illegal Occupation. If they fail to do so, they will
cease to be relevant to the Israeli political system.
This
article has been carried with the permission of the
author who is an Israeli American political scientist
living in Jerusalem. He can be reached at mdahan@attglobal.net.
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