[Peace-discuss] Gideon Levy on Amir Peretz

[David Green]

w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m 
Last update - 01:39 13/11/2005

Not one of their own
By Gideon Levy

Three powerful roadside bombs, not including the right
and Shimon Peres, are now standing in Amir Peretz's
way to the prime ministership: the two strongest power
groups in the country, and one evil spirit. Only if he
can find the wherewithal to courageously dismantle
them will Peretz be able to truly soar.

The first mine, of course, is the moneyed class. We
need not say much about the power of this community
and the clear-cut interest it has in preventing a
person with Peretz's social views from becoming prime
minister. Peretz is well-acquainted with this group.
There is no fear he will change his spots regarding
it, nor any need to advise him on how to deal with it.

The second mine is apparently less familiar to Peretz
- the military and defense community, which is not
used to taking orders from a civilian, a proletariat
leader from Sderot. Peretz could be the first actual
civilian in many years to become prime minister.
Without a senior military rank or a past with an "aura
of security," no pre-state underground activity and no
commando force, not even a nuclear reactor, Peretz
constitutes a threat to the gung-ho types, those in
uniform and those who ostensibly removed them. His
election might herald a revolution, the importance of
which cannot be overstated.

After generations in which defense establishment
graduates captured nearly every important position of
power in the country, from prime minister down to
school principals and military correspondents, Peretz
from the Ordnance Corps could never be one of their
own. They will do everything in their power to block
his way and especially to mutilate his image, belittle
and make it appear ridiculous.

The opening shot came from Danny Yatom, who insinuated
that anyone who hasn't heard real bullets whistling
past his ear is unfit to lead a country where
whistling bullets are the norm. From now on, there
will be more and more condescending remarks about
Peretz's "inexperience" and "lack of understanding." A
civilian-leader, who will view reality not through the
sights of a cannon, who will see in the Palestinians
human beings rather than "wanted for interrogation,"
who will realize that military strength cannot be the
solution to everything and that poverty and the social
gaps are as much a threat to security as Islamic
Jihad, is perhaps the most vital commodity now. The
gung-ho types, who dictate such a large part of our
lives in the "Shin Bet state" that has grown here,
could stand to lose much of their power in his regime.

Peretz has to contend bravely and bluntly with the
efforts to delegitimize him: not to panic, not to be
overtaken by a sense of inferiority, not to surround
himself with a host of generals in order to gain their
liking (Ami Ayalon is already on hand) and not to
succumb to their dictates - just as he did in the face
of those holding the purse strings. A union leader
from Sderot is not a jot lesser than a commander on
the General Staff. His inexperience is his great
advantage, because the experience of the gung-ho types
brought us to the brink of disaster. The war on terror
is too important a matter to be left solely in the
hands of generals; striving for peace must certainly
not be placed in their care. If Peretz really wants to
bring about change, he must proclaim with courage and
determination: The rules of the game will change. The
Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet will no longer be
the ones to decide whether a cargo crossing will be
opened, whether a settlement will be established,
where roads will be built in the territories, and how
much money will be allocated for the basket of health
products and services. Those with the security outlook
will no longer have a veto on every political move.
This change will not be easy, but Peretz must
understand that without it he will not be able to
change a thing.

Deep in the ground lies the third mine, which is the
most complicated when it comes to dismantling options.
Peretz is Mizrahi, a Jew of Middle Eastern origin - a
Moroccan no less - nearly the bottom of the social
ladder. The capacity of Israeli society to accept a
prime minister of these origins remains to be seen.
The ethnic demon, even if it is contained in a bottle,
still resides deep within the hearts of many. It's not
talked about directly, because of political
correctness, but gets wrapped in all sorts of
self-righteous garbs. When Yosef Lapid speaks of the
need to represent "the middle classes" and the
bourgeoisie, he seems to be referring precisely to
that. It seems that in the eyes of quite a few
Israelis of Ashkenazi origin, a Mizrahi can perhaps be
president and defense minister, chief of staff and
police commissioner, but not be at the very top of the
pyramid. When there's talk of how "qualified" Peretz
is, it's there, in the depths of consciousness. You
can't prove it, but it can't be ignored.

In this, too, Peretz is called upon to display a great
deal of courage and integrity: not to put the demon
back in the bottle, but on the contrary, to expose it
to the light of day. The time has come to challenge
hidden racism in Israel and out it from the closet. If
he succeeds in making it clear to the wealthy that
they must beware the poor; to the gung-ho types, that
from now on a voice other than theirs will be heard;
and also to remove the ethnic demon from the bottle
and destroy it - it will yet transpire that Peretz's
election augurs more than expected. But, ultimately,
this test is not just his: It is for all of us. 
 

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