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CounterPunch
November
5, 2002
The Collapse
of the Unity Government
Israel's House of Cards
by MICHAEL DAHAN
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.
Dr. MICHAEL DAHAN is an Israeli American political scientist living
in Jerusalem. He can be reached at mdahan@attglobal.net.
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