By Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM — If you describe yourself as progressive it’s likely that you’ll warm to Ehud Barak these days. Though he betrayed the Labor Party he was elected to lead, and though for a long time he has appeared as the fig leaf for the policies of the Netanyahu government, he has of late emerged as the sane voice from around the cabinet table. He may not be the only one, but he’s the one who’s being heard loud and clear outside.
Last Sunday he made a speech in Tel Aviv in which he used the now, alas, too familiar term “tsunami” to describe what Israel can await in the international arena by September when the Palestinian Authority will turn itself into the State of Palestine. By then it’s likely to be recognized by perhaps as many as 150 countries around the world.
When that happens, we infer, Israeli forces that operate in the area will no longer be occupiers but enemy invaders that the allies of Palestine may try to remove. The West Bank settlements would be on alien soil and the standard cliché that all Jews have the right to settle wherever they choose in the Land of Israel will sound hollower than ever. And to cite the Bible as evidence won’t take us very far.
Barak seems to suggest that Netanyahu consistently chooses to ignore this obvious danger, for example, by authorizing more settlement construction, as he did this week. The prime minister is said to be controlled by the dominant right-wing of his own Likud Party. The defense minister is cited to have said in his speech to the prime minister, “Don’t consult with the ministers, lead.”
I read this to mean that Barak believes that Netanyahu would be more imaginative and daring were he not afraid of his Likud colleagues, which is another way of saying that he’s more interested in being prime minister than leading the country. This approach would be consistent with Barak’s interest to tell both the Israeli public and the rest of the world that his presence in the government may save Israel from disaster. This time, his claim may even be legitimate.
His renewed call to Kadima to join the government would be consistent with it. He believes that its participation would persuade Netanyahu to stand up to the hawks that surround him and take necessary action to bring about peace. In his speech he spelled out that this means not only security and borders but also refugees and Jerusalem, two items the right-wing is determined to avoid but which Kadima will be willing to deal with.
It may be legitimate to speculate that as the United States saved Israel from the Security Council resolution that condemned settlement expansion, it will save it again in the face of the diplomatic “tsunami.” Not that Netanyahu trusts Obama – their relationship is said to be toxic – but he hopes that Congress will come through again, as many of its members may be beholden to Jewish and, even more, evangelical support. However, there’re signs that the Americans are losing patience with Israel, especially as it’s more and more obvious that American Jewry is cooling toward the Jewish state.
The fact that Barak made the speech the day after the news of the terrorist attack in Itamar, when the general mood in the country was anything but conciliatory, suggests that he’s prepared to face sharp criticism from within Israel for the sake of support from the international community in order to help avert a potential disaster.
Perhaps this war hero, too, will go down in history as a champion of peace.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. He now divides his year between Canada and Israel. He may be contacted at dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com