It is still a long time until the elections in the middle of
May, but it is not likely that a more dramatic moment will
arise than the Saturday night firing of Defense Minister
Yitzchak Mordechai by Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Barely three years in politics, Mordechai is personally very
popular. He is seen as sober, honest and levelheaded. In the
previous Likud primaries, which were open to all registered
Likud voters, Mordechai ranked near the top, even though he
had just joined the Likud after leaving the Israel Defense
Forces as a general. His Kurdish background gave him an
immediate rapport with the rank and file Likud voters.
Throughout the tenure of the government, Mordechai has been
responsible and careful. Though he was said to be unhappy
with many of Prime Minister Netanyahu's actions, he never
went public or undermined him in private. He stuck to his
business as Defense Minister and insisted that he was an
integral part of the Likud.
In recent weeks, since the elections were agreed upon and
even somewhat before, Mordechai has been publicly considering
what to do. It was no secret that he was talking with Ehud
Barak of Labor as well as with Amnon Shachak of the new, <%-
2>as yet unnamed, centrist party, as well as with Netanyahu.
When a senior Cabinet Minister who occupies a very central
policy-making position in a government maintains extended
contacts with leaders whose central aim is to overthrow that
government, it is a strange situation indeed. A politician,
including Yitzchak Mordechai, is certainly entitled to join
any party he sees fit, but it is not right for him to
continue to serve in a government that he is trying to bring
down.
After Mordechai declined to register for the Likud primaries
on the previous Friday, Netanyahu was left without many
choices. It was evident that Mordechai was on the way out,
and Netanyahu had nothing to lose by firing him as soon as
possible and not waiting for Mordechai to quit noisily at a
time of his own choosing. Netanyahu's letter to Mordechai
reached him just about as fast as possible, bechedai
sheya'asu, after Shabbos, at one minute to eight. The
letter found Mordechai in a meeting with Shachak and Roni
Milo, two leaders of the centrist party.
Though he perhaps minimized his loss, there is no doubt that
Mordechai's leaving is a serious blow to Netanyahu. Mordechai
was a big asset on Netanyahu's side and will be a difficult
opposition. Netanyahu will not easily dismiss Mordechai as "a
leftist" as he has done with most of his opponents so far. As
the first serious candidate for Prime Minister from the
Sephardic community, Mordechai may also be able to win the
support of many traditional Likud supporters. He will
certainly not evoke the visceral rejection that Labor leaders
do in many parts of the country.
Some of Mordechai's first moves, like visiting the Kosel,
were evidently designed to appeal to the religious and
traditional communities. Though it is welcome to see a
politician who practices consensus Judaism and does not
attack the religious community, Mordechai will have to
explain what his colleague Roni Milo will do in the party if
not persecute religion. That was his only issue for the past
several years.
As for Netanyahu, having lost one of his prime electoral
properties, his task of getting reelected just became that
much harder.
