Would the election of Haifa’s Mayor Amram Mitzna as Israel’s Labour party leader make any difference to the conflict in the Middle East? The answer has to be “no”, even though most Palestinian factions see in him a “partner” with whom they can jumpstart negotiations.
His policy statements and promises before the election made him their best hope for a breakthrough. The other two candidates, one characterized as a hawk and the other a moderate, promised only more of what they are suffering now. If the “moderate”, Haim Ramon, had won, the Labour party would have supported many of the measures taken by the fallen right-wing Likud-Labour coalition government of Ariel Sharon, including most particularly the security fence dividing the Palestinian and Israeli communities. And if the “hawk”, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, the tough defense minister in the outgoing coalition had won, it would have been hard to slip a cigarette paper between the oppressive policies of Likud and a right-wing Labour party.
Mitzna has promised to break the stalemate with Palestinians after 20 months of right-wing rule in Israel. He has vowed to dismantle Jewish settlements in Gaza if he became prime minister in the general election to be held in January. Seven thousand settlers live in heavily guarded enclaves in Gaza, among more than a million Palestinians embittered by Israeli military blockades imposed to combat the two-year-old intifada. Settlers form a key constituency of Israel’s right-wing parties. But polls show most Israelis — like much of the international community — believe the settlements are obstacles to peace and should be dismantled. He has also promised a comprehensive evacuation of the Gaza Strip without delay and also to reopen peace talks with the Palestinian leadership to negotiate the future of the West Bank.
All these are nice promises, but they have to be measured against a couple of hard facts: One is that opinion polls show Prime Minister Ariel Sharon crushing Labour on Jan. 28.
The other is the question: what is an Israeli dove? Has the Labour party ever actually thrown up any politician truly dedicated to a just settlement for the Palestinians? Is it not the truth that Likud and Labour actually amount to a “tough cop and nice cop” double act, which effectively screens the inexorable advance of a Zionist agenda, to which all but a few maverick Israeli politicians are actually dedicated?
Dove, moderate or maybe even hawk, the Labour leader will be hailed as presenting some sort of hope for peace, some challenge to inflexible Zionist policies. Even while hard-liners continue to crush Palestinian aspirations, Labour politicians, if in opposition, will protest and the outside world will be led to believe that there really exists within Israel, a body of moderate and reasonable opinion. If, however, Labour comes to power, it will once again go through all the motions of seeking peace.
Is there, in Israeli politics, any political leader truly committed to a real settlement? We have the history of the last ten years to consider: the false starts, the disappointments, the prevarications and the provocation of Palestinian radicals whose actions have been used as an excuse to suspend the alleged drive toward peace. Why should we expect that Labour’s new leader is going to be any different?
