Jewish World Review Nov. 30, 2000 / 3 Kislev, 5761
Battle plan for Barak:
Make a deal
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
GOOD SOLDIER that he is, Ehud Barak knows the wisdom of
outflanking an enemy on the battlefield. That is exactly
what the Israeli prime minister tried doing Tuesday when
he announced he was ready to call early national
elections.
Members of the right-wing Likud Party had hoped to be
the ones to topple Barak's government in a vote in
Israel's parliament. But they were cut off at the pass
by a feisty Barak. "You want elections?" he asked. "I'll
give you elections."
One might argue that diverting national attention to an
inevitably cantankerous election campaign is not exactly
what the Jewish state needs in the midst of the current
round of Holy Land violence. Israelis and Palestinians
are firing at each other daily and Israeli civilians
are facing a rising tide of Palestinian terrorism. Isn't
one war enough?
Still, by agreeing to a call for elections for next year
instead of the scheduled 2003, Barak hopes to give
himself and his stalled peacemaking efforts new options.
His primary hope is that, with the election clock
ticking, he will be able to shock the stalled
negotiations with the Palestinians into forward drive.
Then, he could possibly come up with enough of a settled
package to present to the Israeli electorate by election
day.
In other words, the forthcoming elections become less a
test of Barak's personal political prowess and more a
referendum on a long overdue peace deal something
polls indicate a majority of Israelis still desperately
want.
There are plenty in Barak's Labor bloc unhappy with his
decision because it places their Knesset seats in
premature jeopardy. But Barak also hopes to split Likud.
Larger-than-life former Gen. Ariel Sharon is the current
head of Likud and, as such, its logical candidate for
prime minister.
But former Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the
man Barak defeated in 1999, has finished licking his
heavy wounds and is waiting in the wings for a chance at
a comeback. There's nothing candidate Barak would like
better than a Likud battle royal for power between
Sharon and Netanyahu.
Barak is even continuing to talk with Sharon about
establishing an emergency government until the new
elections that would include Sharon. Barak lost his
parliamentary majority just before July's ill-fated Camp
David summit with Yasser Arafat and has been trying to
mold a broad coalition government ever since.
But by even flirting with a temporary marriage with
Likud, not to mention calling elections, Barak is also
placing the Palestinians on notice. "You may not like
me," he is saying, "but I'm a far better peace partner
for you than Ariel Sharon or Bibi Netanyahu" neither
of whom has much faith in the Oslo accords or the whole
concept of peace with the Palestinians.
The message seems to be there already. Arafat reportedly
phoned Israeli-Arab members of the Knesset on Tuesday to
urge them not to vote Barak out of office.
But the Israeli prime minister must do more. One of
Barak's near-fatal flaws is a stubborn unwillingness to
listen to advice. Barak must open his ears to his allies
and advisers. And he must make a dramatic effort vis-a-
vis the enemies he wants to make friends: the
Palestinians.
Maybe the time has come for the Israeli leader to get on
television and speak directly to Israel's closest
neighbors, either in Arabic (which he knows to some
degree) or in Hebrew with Arabic subtitles, and explain
what the peace options are and the consequences if
both sides lose this opportunity.
The situation requires blunt talk as well as full use of
the tools for peace. As Yitzhak Rabin proved, good
soldiering is vital, but smart statesmanship is
By Richard Z. Chesnoff
JWR contributor and veteran journalist
Richard Z. Chesnoff is a senior correspondent at US News
And World Report and a columnist at the NY Daily News. His latest book is Pack of Thieves: How Hitler & Europe
Plundered the Jews and Committed the Greatest Theft in History.
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