In every lunatic asylum, there is a closed ward for the dangerously ill, those liable to killthemselves or others. If the crazy structure of Israeli politics had such a ward, the leadersof the Meretz party, who have decided to leave the government, should be sent there.
My e-mail has received many queries from anxious foreign friends who cannot understandwhat’s going on here. Israel is about to face its existential problems, its reconciliationwith the Palestinian people, its place in the region, peace and war. And what occupies thepolitical leadership? Questions like: Who will be in charge of busing children to Shassschools, what shall be the responsibilities of the deputy minister of education, whether theShass schools should get another 30 million shekels (the eighths of the price of the spy planewe want to sell to China). Fateful questions, indeed!
From afar, this looks like madness, a system gone crazy.
And in this general craziness, the act of Meretz looks even more so. A party that represents theintellectual elite, that stands for rational discourse, does something totallyirrational. I am searching for a logical explanation and don’t find one.
Logic says that at such a critical stage of the struggle for peace, the presence of the Meretzministers in the government is necessary more than ever. Its ministers must exert dailypressure on the Prime Minister and counter the schemes of the settlers’ friends in thegovernment. Instead, they leave the government one minute before the decisive hour.
Logic also says that the presence of Shass in the government, precisely at this stage, is worthany price. Shass does represent two important parts of Israeli society: the Orientals and theorthodox. The support of these two communities, or at least major parts of them, is essentialin the struggle for peace. The 253,525 citizens who voted for Meretz will support peace in anycase. But the support of the 430,676 Shass voters is not assured at all. It is a prize worthfighting for.
That’s why I called upon Ehud Barak, on he morrow of the elections, to include Shass in the newgovernment, at any price. Even after all the crises, idiosyncracies, idiocies and curses wehave witnessed since then, the basic facts have not changed. It is impossible to make peacewhen nearly all the Orientals and orthodox believe that peace is a matter of the secular,Ashkenazi elite.
The Meretz leaders say: There is no assurance that Barak is really going to make peace. That’strue. It is quite possible that Barak is a prisoner of the settlers, or of the generals, or of hisown psychological limitations. I estimate the chances of achieving a substantial agreementas 50-50. So what? Does this give the Meretz leaders the right to give up a 50% chance of puttingan end to the 120-years war?
Furthermore, say the Meretz leaders, there is no assurance at all that Shass will supportpeace at the critical moment. That’s true, too. Rabbi Ovadia Josef may be a dove, but his flockis ultra-nationalistic. Perhaps the rabbi will not dare to instruct his followers to vote forpeace in a referendum. A cynic might say that it depends upon whether the price is right. Eitherway, I estimate the chances as only 30-60. But who gave the Meretz leaders the right to give up a30% chance when it’s a matter of life and death?
And all this, because of what? Because of the Shass schools with their 13,000 pupils, a tinypart of the school system? Because of some million shekels, mere peanuts compared with thecolossal sums turned over quietly, without a murmur, to the ultra-orthodox Agudat Israel?
I do not treat lightly such values as “decent norms”, “proper administration” and “civilservice decisions”, which were voiced against Shass in the latest crisis. But I ask: What istheir price? 5000 dead? 1000 dead? 500 dead?
There must be a method in this madness. What is it? I have listened attentively to Yossi Sarid.The word “I” turned up again and again. Sentences like: They told me, they cursed me, I madeconcessions, I tried, I could not, my norms. There is something very personal in this story.The peculiar personality of Yossi Sarid plays a central role in the act.
Minister of Education Sarid did some good things. In critical places he introduced the “longschool day”, thus making it possible to compete with Shass schools on an equal basis. Aneffective and wise course. Why was he not satisfied with that, instead of denying Shass themoney for their schools, humiliating them at every turn and exchanging curses with them?
Eight years ago, after voting for the deportation of the 415 Islamic activists, former Meretzleader Shulamit Aloni admitted that she suffered at the moment from “temporary blindness”.This seems to be a recurring condition at the top of Meretz.