LABOR PARTY OBJECTS TO YISRAEL BEITEINU MEMBERSHIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004034 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2011 TAGS: PGOV PINR IS KPAL SUBJECT: LABOR PARTY OBJECTS TO YISRAEL BEITEINU MEMBERSHIP IN THE COALITION REF: A. TEL AVIV 4013 ¶B. TEL AVIV 4002 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Gene A. Cretz. Reason 1.4 (B/D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Labor Party MKs have awakened to the political challenge posed by coalition-broadening talks between Prime Minister Olmert and Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Lieberman, but have yet to speak with one voice. Although Party Chairman Peretz conveyed his opposition to the Yisrael Beiteinu "worldview" to PM Olmert (ref A),Labor activists remain worried that the Prime Minister will bring in Lieberman, and thus, in their view, abandon the peace process with the Palestinians, spell disaster for Israeli Arabs, endanger Israel's relations with moderate Arab states, and hamper Labor efforts to promote the social agenda that is important to their party base. Separately, Lieberman showed his "clash of civilizations" mindset and reiterated his "separation is the solution" approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict in a recent discussion with Tel Aviv diplomats. He also portrayed his proposal for a presidential system of government as the panacea for Israel's political problems and a key component of his party's political agenda. End Summary. -------------- Vociferous Labor Opposition to Lieberman -------------- ¶2. (C) Nadia Helou, one of two Arab Israeli MKs in the 19-Member Labor Party parliamentary group, told poloff October 12 that she and many other Labor MKs are distressed by the possibility that Olmert will ask Lieberman's party to join the governing coalition. Olmert's apparent rationale for coalition expansion is to buttress the coalition in the event that a fractious Labor Party won't back Olmert's budget when it comes up for debate in the Knesset this fall, according to Helou -- and many political analysts in the Israeli press. Colette Avital, another Labor MK who opposes Lieberman, suggested, however, that Olmert's distrust of Labor intentions vis-a-vis the budget was unwarranted. She said there were only two or three rebels on the budget issue that they "could easily be replaced," and Peretz could still effectively rally the others. ¶3. (C) MK Avital told poloff she is firmly opposed to Lieberman joining the coalition because "he's a fascist." She recalled how Lieberman once said Israel should bomb the Aswan High Dam. "How could we accept such a person in our own government?" She said bringing Lieberman into the government would be disastrous for Israeli Arabs, and that Lieberman would prevent negotiations with the Palestinians or removal of settlement outposts. Avital argued that Lieberman's inclusion would also damage Israel's relations with moderate Arab states, alluding to Jordanian King Abdallah's Reuters interview to that effect. Avital also took issue with Yisrael Beiteinu's social policies, saying that with 1.5 million poor Israelis, Israel could not afford to follow Lieberman's "let 'em fend for themselves" ideology. With Lieberman in the coalition, Avital concluded, the coalition would never agree on a platform and this would be a recipe for paralysis. Regarding Lieberman's government reform bill, Avital asserted that it was merely a distraction. ¶4. (C) MK Helou told poloff that she had requested a Labor party caucus of all MKs and ministers on October 15 to discuss the Lieberman issue. Helou surmised that only the three Labor MKs who are ministers in the coalition actually support Olmert's gambit: Fuad Ben Eliezer, Isaac Herzog, and Shalom Simchon. Helou's analysis tracks with a Yediot Aharonot breakdown of Labor party positions, but she added that the party whip in the Knesset, MK Ephraim Sneh, who just returned from travel abroad, also opposes Lieberman. Helou, who hails from Jaffa, said she hoped Sneh would be able to convince most of the five Labor MKs who remained undecided on the Lieberman issue to close ranks and form a party position on the question. If not, Helou expressed her view that Labor might have to leave the government if Olmert crossed this redline issue and brought Lieberman in. -------------- -- Background on Lieberman's Worldview: Separation -------------- -- ¶5. (SBU) Lieberman shared his worldview with Tel-Aviv based diplomats in an open forum in September. He argued that the Palestinian question was mainly a manifestation of a conflict of civilizations -- between two nations and two religions. With the hubris that comes with rising popularity in Israel's much-discussed (but not always scientific) polls, Lieberman dismissed the Quartet Roadmap and possibility of a "new Middle East" and reiterated his "simple solution" to the conflict: separation between Arabs and Jews by moving the border between Israel and a future state of Palestine so as to exchange territory and people. Divided Cyprus and post-war Yugoslavia are his models, Lieberman announced before the crowd of mainly European diplomats. "I don't believe in coexistence between two nations -- just good neighbors, nothing more." ¶6. (SBU) The presence of Israeli Arabs together with a future Palestinian state would tear Israel apart, Lieberman stressed. "They (the Israeli Arabs) define themselves as Palestinians!" When pressed by the Georgian ambassador on what option the Yisrael Beiteinu vision presents for Israeli Arabs not eager to be uprooted, Lieberman replied: "Such an individual must formally recognize Israel as a Jewish/Zionist entity, serve in the Army or alternative service. Alternatively, he can continue to live in Israel, but without the right to vote for MKs -- much as the Palestinians residing in East Jerusalem, who pay Israeli taxes and vote in municipal rather than parliamentary elections." ¶7. (SBU) Lieberman also shared his personal perspective on Israeli politics and his plan to change the system of government. "We don't have political stability -- in eleven years we've had five elections, ten foreign ministers, and nine ministers of finance -- and this makes it difficult to set policy. New elections won't solve the problem; a change in the political system to a presidential system is required. Without this change, the government will not be able to move in any direction." ¶8. (C) Comment: Among the Israeli academics and pundits who are busy debating the consequences of the Lebanon war, few have pointed to the absence of "presidential" political muscle in the hands of the Prime Minister as the root of the current political crisis in Israel. Rather, abuse of political power by corrupt politicians, myopic strategic thinking on the part of the current government, and mismanagement of the war by the IDF Chief of Staff are the issues that matter most to them and many other Israelis (ref B). Avital's assessment that talk of changing the government system is a "diversion" is probably an apt description of the issue when viewed from Olmert's perspective. Olmert, who sidelined the Russian-speaking politicians in his own party, now appears eager -- if press reports are accurate -- to create a new deputy Prime Minister berth for Lieberman in hopes of bolstering his coalition for the cheap political price of one portfolio. While Olmert has tried to mollify Labor with assurances that the principles governing the coalition will remain unchanged, few Labor MKs find that to be a sufficient protection against the serious threat posed by Lieberman to their own party objectives on the peace process and a host of other social issues. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** CRETZ