Dei'ah veDibur - Information & Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

24 Ellul 5761 - September 12, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS

OPINION
& COMMENT

OBSERVATIONS

HOME
& FAMILY

IN-DEPTH
FEATURES

VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

HOMEPAGE

 

Produced and housed by
Shema Yisrael Torah Network
Shema Yisrael Torah Network

Opinion & Comment
Politica: Peres is Indefatigable

by E. Rauchberger

No one can say for sure that Avraham Burg will indeed assume the post of Labor Party chairman, for Ben Eliezer has already announced that he will take whatever steps necessary to unveil what he calls "the hijacking of the elections and ballot fraud." However, with all due respect to the legal process, the chances of altering the results are next to nothing. The courts only change election results under rare circumstances, and this case is unlikely to fall in that category.

Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres, and their respective associates, are also gradually adjusting to the fact that Avraham Burg has won the elections and to the very real possibility of a withdrawal by the Labor Party and a blow to the unity government. This is not to say that tomorrow morning Burg will make a move to resign from the government, but eventually it is bound to happen. Had Ben Eliezer been elected, it would have been much slower in coming if at all.

Sharon has already prepared a number of alternatives, such as the Center Party for instance, which joined the coalition government just two weeks ago. The addition of the NRP will help preserve the coalition majority, and Gesher's three MKs, headed by David Levy, would also be very glad to join forces with Sharon--assuming a suitable dowry is offered, in the form of one of the leading portfolios for David Levy. If the Labor Party resigns, Sharon would definitely have the goods needed to satisfy Levy.

The big question is what will become of Shimon Peres. At the ripe old age of 78, Peres is not about to go work under a leader who is 30 years his junior, even if the man chosen for the job was once his protege. If Burg decides to pull the Labor Party out of the government, where would that leave Peres?

Peres is expected by many to remain in Sharon's government as Foreign Minister, even if his party resigns. Peres no longer has anything to lose. By the time of the next elections, he will already be 80, so his political future is not at stake. His future is already behind him. What's the worst that could happen? Such a move could require that he resign from the Labor Party and from the Knesset. He would remain a minister, but give up his seat in the Knesset--no great loss for him.

This deal would mean Peres could remain influential, and it would prevent Sharon's government, following the withdrawal of the Labor Party, from being completely associated with the far Right--with all that implies. Keeping Peres in the government would allow Sharon to moderate this image both here and abroad, and would provide him with the left-wing representation he needs.

Members of both camps claim an agreement has already been reached to retain Peres as foreign minister. Furthermore, they claim, such an understanding was already reached when the unity government was set up. At the time both Sharon and Peres considered the possibility that the Labor Party might be forced to withdraw at some point.

Peres' friend Moshe Dayan already set a precedent for such a move. When Menachem Begin first took over the Prime Minister's office, Moshe Dayan was chosen for Labor's Knesset list. Following the elections, Dayan personally joined the government as foreign minister, and resigned from the Labor Party without returning its Knesset mandate. Dayan was much younger than Peres at the time, but he felt no inclination to sit on the opposition bench. Having served as commander-in- chief and defense minister for many years, he found the prospects of once again becoming a regular MK wholly unappealing.

The move proved to be worthwhile for both Dayan and Begin. Dayan received a prestigious post that allowed him to remain a central figure in national affairs, and he helped Begin's government to be perceived as a legitimate government rather than an extreme right-wing regime.

If Dayan was able to save Begin's reputation, certainly Peres can be a great asset for Sharon. He is older than Dayan was, more experienced, and for him resigning from the government would spell the end of his political career, which he would like to push off as long as possible. This package deal would be just as worthwhile for Sharon as it was for Begin, and might be even more valuable. If both sides are willing, there is nothing to prevent the deal from going through.

Courage

One of the most powerful figures in Israel is High Court President Aharon Barak. He has the power and authority to make binding decisions on almost any issue, whether it applies to individuals or to the public.

It is only natural that no one in the political establishment wants challenge him by directing serious criticism against him. No one wants to be hounded by the court system and everyone would like his own needs and requests to be heard in the High Court.

But to every rule there is an exception. In this case, the renegade is Yigal Bibi of the NRP, who has the courage to constantly launch severe attacks against Barak.

Several months ago Barak participated in an event held by the Knesset in honor of its long-time legal advisor, Tzvi Avner, upon his retirement. Barak appeared in the Knesset auditorium and delivered a long, scholarly lecture on the issue of the constitutional court, stating his reasons for firmly opposing its founding.

Barak addressed this issue in light of the fact that the Knesset had approved a bill to set up a constitutional court in a preliminary reading with an impressive majority of 52 to 27, and since the Knesset Legislative Committee was supposed to continue discussing the issue in preparation for a first reading.

The High Court President is afraid of a constitutional court. He claims it is a dangerous idea that could bring tragedy upon the trial system, making it subject to politics. Barak's opponents claim that his opposition is entirely personal, since Barak sees the establishment of a special court authorized to decide ethical and constitutional issues that are currently decided by the High Court, as a threat to his stature and the stature of the High Court.

Many MKs, both supporters and opponents, heard Barak's lecture in the Knesset. But only one MK--Yigal Bibi--had the courage to heckle him during the course of his speech with shouts of "Chutzpah! Chutzpah!" He was furious that Barak had the gall to come to the Knesset and carp at MKs.

Last month the Knesset Legislative Committee held several meetings on the issue of a constitution and a constitutional court. MKs were surprised to see Committee Chairman Ofir Pines, who supports Barak's position, arrive at an agreement with one of the bill's leading supporters, Eliezer Cohen (Yisrael Beitenu), to divide the two parts of the law: the drafting of the constitution and the set up of the constitutional court. According to their agreement, the constitution would be advanced while the law to set up a constitutional court would be shelved for now.

The committee's religious MKs, led by Deputy Minister Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, were irate over the agreement and insisted that it would not be honored. They are unwilling to allow a constitution to be legislated in the State of Israel without setting up a constitutional court, since under present circumstances, questions of interpretation would come before the High Court -- and everyone knows what would happen there.

Before one of the discussions on the issue of setting up a constitutional court held about a week ago, Yigal Bibi resumed his one-man offensive against Barak by sending him a letter demanding that he stop blackmailing the political system.

In the letter Bibi claimed that Barak is using his power as head of the legal system to block the ratification of the law and the establishment of a constitutional court. "Blackmail comes in many forms. Sometimes blackmail is designed to obtain money, sometimes blackmail is designed to receive benefits and sometimes blackmail is designed to promote conceptual objectives or positions of power. Taking advantage of the power of the ruling system in any manner in order to promote its objectives is also a form of blackmail," wrote Bibi in his letter to Barak.

Later in the letter he cited several examples of alleged incidents of blackmail against political figures and parties, all of which, he says, were intended to discourage these politicians from voting in favor of the constitutional court.

The cutting letter might be unprecedented. It is highly unlikely that there is such a harsh, acrimonious letter in the archives of the high court president or any other judge, sent by a political personality of Yigal Bibi's stature, as an MK and a former deputy minister and mayor.

During the committee meeting Yigal Bibi did not mince words, saying "the High Court has caused tremendous damage to the State of Israel. The moment the judicial authority has the power to annul our laws, the laws of the Knesset, we will face anarchy. We are being blackmailed by the judges."

During the same meeting Rabbi Ravitz also took issue with the High Court, criticizing it in extremely acerbic terms: "The High Court has lost its bearings and has crossed the lines. A great tragedy has befallen--it has lost the faith of large segments of the population. It has cut off the hand that feeds it."


All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.