Prime Minister Ehud Barak cannot decide if he wants to unify
Israel or divide it. It was no more than sixteen months ago,
right after he was elected, that he said that he would be
everyone's prime minister, but only two months later he
showed that he was not the religious community's prime
minister when he ordered the gratuitous and insulting
chilul Shabbos in transporting an oversized turbine
component on Shabbos. A month ago he launched his "secular
revolution" alienating broad sectors of Israel (and certainly
not just the chareidim) but now he talks of a national unity
government.
His governing coalition held up longer, but before the end of
his first year in office, he lost one of his closest allies
when Meretz left the coalition, ostensibly refusing to
continue with Shas. In retrospect, it seems that the
politically astute Meretz leader, Yossi Sarid, may have
already sensed that Barak would not accomplish anything and
was just as happy not to share the failure as a member of the
government. At least partial proof of this is the fact that
Sarid did not make any move to rejoin the government after
Shas left.
Now Barak seems clearly led by events rather than shaping
them. He seems to ignore the facts, as the Palestinians
openly say that they are fighting a war and that Israel is
the enemy. In response, Barak and his surrogates, while
noting that the Palestinians have violated every agreement
from the original Oslo pact of seven years ago to the Sharm a
Sheikh agreement signed barely a week ago, plaintively repeat
their refrain that they want to resume the "peace process."
If someone declares that he is at war with you and declares
that you are his enemy, it is hard to see how he can be a
partner for peace. If he shoots at you, why worry about
hurting his feelings?
It is obvious to PA leader Arafat that U.S. President Clinton
has little to offer to the process aside from the force of
his personality. His power is very limited as his term in
office nears its end. He cannot offer money, and his personal
good will is not worth much for very long. As a veteran
leader, Arafat feels he has little need to worry about what
Clinton thinks of his violence. Only Barak still seems to
feel that it is worthwhile and important to have Clinton like
him.
Barak has no plan for action, and merely lurches from
announcement to announcement. On Sunday he announced to his
cabinet that it is time for a "timeout" in the peace process,
yet he had not consulted with any of the ministers in
advance, and they were not willing to approve his sudden
announcement. His lone "success," the pullout (or retreat)
from Lebanon, was undercut when a foiled infiltration attempt
on the part of three terrorists in the north was
announced.
It must be as obvious to the Left as to everyone else that
Ehud Barak is beyond his abilities in filling the position of
prime minister of Israel. Yet they are unwilling to bring him
down solely because of their narrow personal interests.
It is not unlikely that the Arabs, whose initiative has
determined the flow of events in recent months, will soon
also make it impossible for Barak to continue as prime
minister and force the State of Israel to choose a new
leader.
Now as ever we are reminded that lev melochim vesorim
beyad Hashem. We pray to the true Source of power that
things will quiet down soon.
