Free Republic

Oct. 13, 2003 Ministers steer clear of 'Geneva' deal By GRACE B. MCMILLAN Not a single minister in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet is expected to support the Geneva Initiative hammered out over the weekend by a team of Israeli leftists and Palestinians in Amman. Former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, who initiated the plan, had expressed hope of attracting support from Shinui and Likud MKs. The two sides in Amman agreed to bring the deal to their governments for approval. But Shinui leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid released a statement criticizing the initiative and National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Partitzky, who considers...

A First Look at the Geneva (Swiss) Agreement 21:00 Oct 12, '03 / 16 Tishrei 5764 (IsraelNN.com) Senior government officials have released strong statements opposing today signing of the “Geneva/Swiss Agreement” in Amman. According to Giora Inbar, a retired IDF brigadier-general and one of the Israelis who participated in the ceremony, the agreement brings new hope to the area. He explained that he and his colleagues see a true willingness by the PA to work towards peace with Israel. He did not offer any explanations as to the past ten years of attacks since the signing of the Oslo Agreement,...

Oct. 9, 2003 Barak deplores leftists' 'Swiss Agreement' By TOVAH LAZAROFF AND GIL HOFFMAN Former Labor prime minister Ehud Barak has harshly criticized the "Swiss Agreement", an alternate peace agreement with the Palestinians penned by Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo. He called it "irresponsible and damaging to the State of Israel," Y-Net reported. He said that if the Labor Party wants to be taken seriously, it cannot be a party to such initiatives that "confuse both the public and our friends alike." A group of left-wing and Labor politicians left for Jordan on Thursday evening to sign the agreement....

Jan. 30, 2003Lapid, Mitzna to meet By NINA GILBERT Shinui leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid and Labor Party leader Amram Mitzna are scheduled to meet on Thursday, as Mitzna continued to insist that Labor won't join a national-unity government headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Lapid convened his expanded Knesset faction of 15 for a celebration on Wednesday. The leadership did not discuss its conditions for joining a coalition and is still focusing its efforts on getting the Labor Party to join a coalition with it. "It is very important for the Labor Party to join the government," Lapid said, adding...

When Ariel Sharon was elected Prime Minister in 2001, he established a unity government that brought Israel's two traditionally dominant parties -- Labour and Likud -- into a coalition. That coalition broke down last year during a budget dispute, and Mr. Sharon called early elections, which will take place tomorrow. Mr. Sharon has done a good job of steering Israel through difficult times, and has orchestrated an effective counterattack against one of the most vicious terrorist campaigns the world has ever witnessed. He deserves to be re-elected. Israeli politics are usually full of scandal and venom, and this contest has...

Yasser Arafat urges Palestinian groups to exercise "restraint" ahead of the upcoming Israeli elections. His Excellency "invites our Palestinian people to show their restraint and not allow themselves to be dragged along by the Israeli escalation and provocation, on the approach of Israeli elections," the official WAFA news agency reported. Arafat's statement was in apparent response to the bombing last Sunday in which two members of the military wing of his Fatah movement exploded in Tel Aviv, killing 22. Arafat reportedly told a cabinet meeting that such attacks have severely harmed the Palestinian cause in world and Israeli public opinion....

Mitzna for Prime Minister By Taki I recently had a very pleasant dream. A nice Christmas present, in fact. Amram Mitzna, the mayor of Haifa and leader of the Israeli Labor Party, wins the parliamentary election of next January, which in turn causes Norman Podhoretz and William Kristol to accuse Israelis of anti-Semitism and to demand that George W. Bush send in the Marines. Alas, then I woke up. It is not going to happen—the victory of Amram Mitzna, that is—not that it will stop Podhoretz and Kristol from shouting foul whenever possible. Mitzna seems a hell of a fellow....

Israel's Bourbon elite By Ari Shavit Shortly after the Israel Defense Forces undertook Operation Defensive Shield last spring, one of its commanders used an interesting metaphor to describe the significance of the wide-scale military operation. What we're doing in the West Bank, said the senior officer, is putting a blanket over the flames. We are not putting out the fire and are not eradicating its sources. But by covering the burning territories with a military blanket we are managing to prevent the spread of the firestorm and we are slowly trying to smother it. True. But in recent months...

A genuine leader, or the latest gimmick? By Yoel Marcus The startling landslide victory for the Labor leadership of a not especially charismatic political newcomer really ticked off Fuad. Neither an officer nor a gentleman in defeat, he just couldn't believe what's-his-name from Haifa had swiped the whole kitty from under him. His friends and supporters muttered about an "Ashkenazi conspiracy" as if there were some kind of Ashkenazi Elders of Zion plot going on to shaft the Mizrahim. But one thing never occurred to them. The one person who is really to blame for what happened to Fuad is...

Mitzna promises immediate Gaza withdrawal By Akiva Eldar Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna is promising that if he forms the next government, no matter how many members of Knesset are in his coalition, and even if he has to rely on what's called "a non-Jewish majority," one of the first decisions of the new government would be to pull Israel out of Gaza. Mitzna said there is no need to wait for negotiations to evacuate all the settlements. Nor does he need the approval of Yasser Arafat, Hosni Mubarak, or even George W. Bush. Less than a day before the...

Mitzna sweeps to Labor Party victory; Ben-Eliezer: `We'll not become Meretz II' By Yossi Verter Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna, who entered national politics in August on a dovish platform promising to withdraw from the territories and negotiate with the Palestinians under fire, last night won the Labor Party chairmanship, defeating the incumbent Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and challenger Haim Ramon by a wide margin. Ben-Eliezer, at Labor Party headquarters after midnight, for 20 minutes delivered what sounded more like a victory speech. He thanked friends and followers "who have been with me for nearly two decades," and promised he would maintain...