STAFFDEL TALWAR DISCUSSES DISENGAGEMENT AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004619

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV ELAB ECON EAID KWBG KPAL IS GAZA DISENGAGEMENT GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL TALWAR DISCUSSES DISENGAGEMENT AND
ISRAELI POLITICS WITH AMIR PERETZ

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (B
) and (D).


1. (C) Summary: Staffdel Talwar met with Histadrut labor
federation leader and candidate for head of the Labor Party
Amir Peretz on July 11 to discuss disengagement, the peace
process and Israeli politics. Peretz expressed support for
disengagement, but was suspicious that the GOI is
intentionally increasing tension to alleviate international
pressure for additional steps in the West Bank. Calling
social issues the key to peace, he suggested that the USG
could further assist the peace process by providing
additional economic assistance to Israel and hinted that
applying diplomatic pressure could be useful. Addressing
internal Israeli politics, Peretz accused Labor Party leaders
of stealing the leadership race from him and called the
Knesset bill that would prohibit anyone from holding a
parliamentary seat while serving as the head of Histadrut a
"targeted killing." He insisted that he is the best
candidate in Labor to advance a social agenda, which he said
is only way the party can attract right-wing voters. End
summary.

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Support for Disengagement and a Palestinian State
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2. (C) Noting that he lives in Sderot, the town in Israel
most often targeted by Qassam rockets from Gaza, Peretz said
he supports disengagement even though it leaves his home
vulnerable to further attacks. He said he is "a little
suspicious" that the GOI wants to provoke a national trauma
with disengagement in order to shield itself from outside
pressure on West Bank settlements and the security barrier.
In his view, ending the disengagement process after Gaza
would be "disastrous" and result in another Intifada. The
GOI will need broad public support to take the next big step,
addressing the West Bank settlements.


3. (C) According to Peretz, the majority of Israelis support
the peace process. He first espoused an independent
Palestinian state in 1984, because it "is in Israel's
interests." He called President Mahmud Abbas a "very good
partner" worthy of Israeli support. He noted that he had met
regularly with Palestinian officials from Tunis while serving
as mayor of Sderot, even though his contacts had resulted in
his children facing abuse at school. Peretz called social
issues the key to attaining peace. He said that when
bulldozers start destroying Israeli settlements, he will tell
voters "they are burying your future" and stress the large
sum of money wasted on the settlements. He suggested that
the USG could further assist the peace process by providing
additional economic assistance to Israel and hinted that
diplomatic pressure could be useful.

-------------- --------------
Social Issues Key to Labor Leadership and Elections
-------------- --------------


4. (C) Peretz complained that he had been poised to win the
leadership of the Labor Party a few weeks ago when other
Labor politicians postponed the vote and "stole the election
from me." He called the Knesset bill which would prohibit
anyone from holding a parliamentary seat while serving as the
head of the Histadrut labor federation, a "targeted killing"
designed to complicate his leadership bid. He claimed the
bill would have ultimately have little effect, because it
could be challenged easily before the Supreme Court.


5. (C) Maintaining that he is the only Labor leader capable
of attracting Likud voters with a social agenda during the
general election, Peretz joked, "you need Jesus for the
Annunciation." He noted that he had been mayor of Sderot,
normally a stronghold for parties on the right of the
political spectrum.

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Histadrut in Comparison to U.S. Unions
--------------


6. (C) Peretz explained what he sees as the differences
between U.S. and Israeli labor unions. As the head of the
main umbrella organization for labor unions in Israel with
700,000 members, he has the legal authority to sign all labor
agreements. Histadrut receives all dues and distributes them
to the member unions, further increasing its influence.
Contracts signed by Histadrut are binding for all workers in
Israel, he said, not just members of its unions.

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Biographic Notes
--------------


7. (C) Speaking English, but frequently reverting to Hebrew,
Peretz sought help from his aides. On several occasions, he
quarreled with them over the translations, saying he was
looking for a different word. Peretz joked that he had often
met Ariel Sharon on weekends, when he would ride his bicycle
around Sderot and Sharon would be on his ranch with a
four-wheel ATV. Peretz was born in Morocco in 1952 and moved
to Israel at the age of four. He was severely wounded in
1974 while serving in the IDF in the Sinai. After a lengthy
rehabilitation, he was mayor of Sderot from 1983-1988. First
elected to the Knesset in 1988 on the Labor ticket, he formed
his own workers party in 1999 before rejoining Labor in 2004.
He is one of the leading candidates for the Labor leadership.


8. (U) This cable was cleared by staffdel.

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