Avraham B. Yehoshua: Olmert Is Not a Natural Leader
    By Delphine Matthiessent
    Liberation

    Thursday 18 November 2006

    What do you think of the actions of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose popularity has been in freefall since the war?

    Everything hit him all at once. Olmert is not a natural leader; he was always a gray minister in different governments, a technocrat who had never prepared for great leadership. But the present situation is not as dramatic as some suggest. I don't share the naÔve and romantic vision of leadership. What counts are results. Overall, Olmert has conducted himself well. Some of our politicians who had lots of charisma made terrible mistakes. Prime Minister Begin, who enjoyed a tremendous popular aura, made enormous mistakes in the war in Lebanon. On the other side of the equation, Levy Eshkol, about whom a huge number of jokes circulated on account of his lack of charisma, was an excellent prime minister who prepared the country and the army very well for the Six Day War.

    How do you see Avigdor Lieberman's entry into the government?

    Lieberman is a bizarre political creature - as have appeared from time to time in Israeli political life. He's not part of the ideological Right that defends the "Greater Israel" idea. By entering the government, his party, Israel Beitenou, accepted the government's official cornerstone, which remains unilateral retreat from the territories and creation of a Palestinian state. To that extent, one cannot say that it's an authentic Right party, even if Lieberman makes very racist comments [of the sort] habitually heard in the ranks of the classic Right. But from the point of view of political vision, he's not the worst of the hawks, even though he's been highly influenced by the Soviet political tradition of force. One may not either, as some do, describe him as a fascist. What does that mean, fascist? Someone who wants to annul democracy, who is against the democratic system. We must use words correctly. The Lieberman phenomenon will pass, because he's not at the head of anything. Minister of Strategic Affairs, what does that mean? His entry into the government is just a political maneuver on Olmert's part, since his coalition was weakened by this past summer's war. There have been much worst ministers in Israel's history than Lieberman. Sharon, for example, who, as defense minister, decided to bombard Beirut in 1982, was far more dangerous than Lieberman.

    How do you evaluate the situation in the Gaza strip after the Beit Hanoun blunder?

    Beit Hanoun was not a deliberate action by the Israeli army. But in the face of Palestinian madness that consists of continuing to fire rockets, Israel cannot content itself with automatic military responses to try to assure the security of Sderot and Ashkelon residents. Olmert must also find more creative, more imaginative solutions, such as, for example, proposing an immediate cease-fire in exchange for lifting the Gaza blockade. We need to find a way to stop the suicidal mania of Gaza's Palestinians. Not only military operations, even if those are sometimes indispensable, but also psychological and political solutions. For that, Olmert must unceasingly speak - not with Hamas or Fatah - but directly with the Palestinians who live in refugee camps, with those who fire the rockets. We must bombard the residents of Gaza with words. We must explain to them that the present situation is not unavoidable. We must tell them that we want to make peace, that Gaza is important to us - after all Gaza is 60 km away from Tel-Aviv - that the deaths and destruction in Gaza are painful for us also. We have to repeat that all the time, even if it isn't immediately accepted. We must use a language that is not only political, but that leaves room for feelings, that goes straight to the heart of Palestinians.

    What do you mean by "the suicidal mania of Gaza's Palestinians?"

    The Palestinians act as though they no longer want a state. Israel has withdrawn from Gaza, has destroyed the colonies and the military bases, but the Palestinians keep on firing. Before the withdrawal, 40 Israeli soldiers and civilians were killed every year; since the withdrawal, 8 Israeli soldiers and over 400 Palestinians have been killed. It's madness. Why? What do they want? To destroy Israel? Instead of constructing Gaza, instead of saying to Israelis: "You see, all our problems were linked to your occupation; with your departure, we have entered a period of peace, construction, and prosperity. Do the same thing in the West Bank, in Nablus and Jenine and you'll see: everything will settle down." Instead of that, they keep firing all the time. It's absurd; they know they can't destroy much with their Kassam rockets.

    --------

    Avraham B. Yehoshua, born in Jerusalem in 1936, is one of the best known contemporary Israeli writers in the world. Author of novels and political essays, he is engaged in the "peace camp." Notably, he participated in the signing of the Geneva Accords in 2003, an Israeli-Palestinian initiative that tried to put an end to the conflict.