Peretz continues to shirk security issues as poll numbers sag

By Rafael D. Frankel

With his poll numbers shrinking precipitously and division in the ranks of his party, Labor Chairman Amir Peretz declined to change tacks in his campaign Monday, sticking to the socio-economic agenda he has carved out over the last months.

Members of Peretz’s party have been increasingly vocal—albeit anonymously—about the need to discuss security issues in the campaign as Labor has seen its projected mandates fall from 28 to a recently released figure of 15.

Following the legally required monthly meeting between the opposition leader and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Peretz told reporters there was broad “consensus” within Israel at the moment on how to conduct the war on terrorism and also that Israelis realized a Palestinian state was in Israel’s best interest.

“The real argument is the way Israel reacts to economic issues,” he said. “There is one nation [within Israel] which is enjoying the economy very much, but the majority of the country is paying the price of budget cuts and are not enjoying the fruits of the new economy.”

Peretz’s reluctance to speak about security issues has worried many in the Labor party who fear that, even while Israelis may agree with his economic platform, they will be unwilling to elect a leader who does not make national security his primary focus.

“There is a need to talk more about what we are suggesting in security and state issues,” said Gilad Heymann, the spokesman for former Labor Minister Ofer Paz-Pines. “There is a big difference between us and Sharon.”

What that difference is remains unclear. While Labor Party rank and file talk about negotiating in good faith with the Palestinians and strengthening the more moderate elements of Palestinian leadership, Peretz himself has said very little.

On Monday, the Labor leader said he agrees with the manner in which the government is handling the security front, and that he did not think it was necessary for the prime minister to call every shot of the army but rather to make sure the IDF has the tools it needs to provide for Israel’s security.

Despite the calls from within Labor to hammer out a distinctive position on the peace process and security matters, Peretz Spokesman Tom Wagner said the labor chairman has no plans to change the theme of his campaign.

“He won’t be talking according to what others want to hear,” Wagner said. “He will focus on his agenda, mostly socio-economic issues.

“[Peretz] does not believe the prime minister should decide which cannon and which unit to use in every case, that’s what we have a defense minister for,” Wagner said.

Indeed, Peretz sought to draw a large distinction between Labor and Kadima, repeatedly calling the latter a “one man party” while saying Labor was replete with competent personnel who could run the country.

He also touted Labor’s democratic credentials. “There is a major difference because, after the primaries, the Labor party will have undergone a thorough democratic process,” Peretz said.

Seeking to deflect the internal criticism flung his way in the wake of Labor’s decreased poll standing, Peretz also said that he inherited a party in disarray. “We can’t ignore the fact that the former chairman of the party left to join Sharon, but on voting day Israelis will choose the people of Labor,” he said. “And when the time comes, traditional Labor voters will stick with the party.”

During the meeting with Sharon, Peretz said he was briefed on a number of security and foreign affairs issues. He said he agreed with the principle of non-interference in Palestinian internal affairs—a reference to Hamas’s standing in the Palestinian elections—and that he assumed some solution would be found for Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem who want to vote.

Peretz also said that he told the prime minister that Israel should carry out the recommendations of the Sasson Report and evacuate illegal outposts in the West Bank without delay.

“It is of the utmost importance for this to be handled,” he said. “In every place Israel has law authorities to uphold the law, the law must be upheld—fully upheld.”

Peretz also said the he requested to be briefed by the prime minister at their next meeting on economic affairs, calling Israel’s current economic standing “a strategic threat” to the nation.

©2005 The Jerusalem Post and Rafael D. Frankel