NEW YAHAD CHAIRMAN BEILIN SOUNDS BATTLE CRY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001667

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL IS GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: NEW YAHAD CHAIRMAN BEILIN SOUNDS BATTLE CRY
AGAINST LIKUD, BUT IS LABOR LISTENING?

REF: 03 TEL AVIV 6800

Classified By: Political Counselor Norm Olsen for reason 1.4 (b) and (d
).


1. (SBU) Summary: Yossi Beilin's close victory in the new
Yahad Party's chairmanship race against Meretz MK Ran Cohen
blows some new life into the foundering political career of
the Geneva Accords architect, but has barely ruffled the
political waters. Beilin termed his win a victory for
"peace, the Geneva Accord and social justice," and boldly
called on Labor leader -- and Beilin mentor -- Shimon Peres
to immediately "establish an opposition management" along
with Yahad to "shorten Sharon's days in office." Beilin
warned Labor not to join Sharon's government, saying it would
be repeating an earlier mistake. His comments have
nonetheless not yet elicited any reaction from Peres or other
Labor leaders, and neither the birth of Yahad nor the
Beilin/Cohen race have elicited more than a wide yawn from
the Israeli political and media establishments. End summary.

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Beilin Born Again, (and Again, and Again)
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2. (SBU) Receiving about 54 percent of the vote in what was
a close race until the end, Yossi Beilin defeated Meretz MK
Ran Cohen for the chairmanship of the new Yahad ("together")
party in its March 16 primary. Cohen Knesset colleagues
Zahava Gal-On and Avshalom Vilan came out in support of
Beilin at the last minute, which, aside from embarrassing
Cohen, may have sealed Beilin's victory. As one of the
architects and untiring champions of the Geneva Accords,
Beilin has a reputation for being the worldly "statesman,"
while Cohen, with kibbutznik roots, is known for his
overarching concern about social causes and improving the
plight of Israel's poor. Both candidates reportedly objected
to how they were labeled. Upon accepting his defeat, Cohen
magnanimously announced that he would not establish a rival
camp.


3. (SBU) The win signaled a political comeback of as yet
undetermined strength for Beilin, who, after a long political
career in Labor, including ministerial positions in Labor
governments, left that party to join Meretz in December 2002
after Labor placed him too low on its candidate list even to
compete for a Knesset seat. Beilin failed to obtain a
position high enough on the Meretz Party list to receive a
seat in the 16th Knesset, since Meretz lost four of its
previous 10 seats. On November 20, 2003, Meretz approved a
merger with Shahar, a movement formed by Beilin in June 2002,
to form Yahad (reftel). Beilin is not currently a Knesset
Member.

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Beilin Calls on Peres to Form Opposition
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4. (SBU) Using his chance in the media spotlight, Beilin
turned his March 16 victory speech into a challenge to his
long-time mentor and Labor leader Shimon Peres to form what
he referred to as an "opposition management" in order to
"shorten Sharon's days in office." Beilin termed the Sharon
government "the worst Israel has had," noting the continuing
"cycle of terror attacks." (Note: Interestingly, the day
after Beilin declared his election a victory for the Geneva
Accords, full-page advertisements appeared in Israel's three
major newspapers calling for readers to cast electronic votes
in favor of the Geneva Accords on March 24, in the first of
several "interactive demonstrations." Justice Minister Lapid
announced March 17 that the State Comptroller would
investigate the funding sources for Beilin's election
campaign and for the Geneva initiative.) Beilin warned Labor
not to join a Sharon government, threatening that if it did,
he would "fight (Labor) more than we would fight the Likud."


5. (SBU) The media did not carry any official Labor
reactions to Beilin's speech. Less than 24 hours after
Beilin's pronouncements, however, PM Sharon met with Labor
faction chair MK Dalia Itzik, reportedly to provide more
details about his disengagement plan. In addition, Ha'aretz
reported that at a press conference convened by Labor on
March 17, Peres "declined to give a guarantee that Labor
would under no circumstances join a Sharon-led government."
In a display of the confusion surrounding Labor's intentions,
the Ma'ariv website, however, reported that Peres "outright
rejected" the notion that it planned to form a unity
government with Sharon.

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Is Anyone Listening?
--------------


6. (SBU) The media paid scant attention to, and pundits spent
little energy speculating over, who would win the Yahad
elections. Meretz MK Roman Bronfman told poloff late
afternoon of March 16 that he had no idea who would win, and
had no interest in speculating about the results or its
ramifications for Yahad. Most editorials on Beilin's win and
on Beilin the man dismissed him as too far to the left and
too far removed from the average Israeli to be a serious
player in Israeli politics.


7. (C) Labor activist and organizer for the Western Galilee
Nimrod Vizansky, a kibbutznik, commented to poloff on March
17 that Beilin "does not have much influence," and asserted
that "whatever Beilin says right after the elections is not
very important." While winning the Yahad chairmanship might
have satisfied Beilin's political ambitions, Vizansky noted,
Beilin is still "a small fish in a small pond."

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