US embassy cable - 04TELAVIV1667

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001667 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, IS, GOI INTERNAL 
SUBJECT: NEW YAHAD CHAIRMAN BEILIN SOUNDS BATTLE CRY 
AGAINST LIKUD, BUT IS LABOR LISTENING? 
 
REF: 03 TEL AVIV 6800 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Norm Olsen for reason 1.4 (b) and (d 
). 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary: Yossi Beilin's close victory in the new 
Yahad Party's chairmanship race against Meretz MK Ran Cohen 
blows some new life into the foundering political career of 
the Geneva Accords architect, but has barely ruffled the 
political waters.  Beilin termed his win a victory for 
"peace, the Geneva Accord and social justice," and boldly 
called on Labor leader -- and Beilin mentor -- Shimon Peres 
to immediately "establish an opposition management" along 
with Yahad to "shorten Sharon's days in office."  Beilin 
warned Labor not to join Sharon's government, saying it would 
be repeating an earlier mistake.  His comments have 
nonetheless not yet elicited any reaction from Peres or other 
Labor leaders, and neither the birth of Yahad nor the 
Beilin/Cohen race have elicited more than a wide yawn from 
the Israeli political and media establishments.  End summary. 
 
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Beilin Born Again, (and Again, and Again) 
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2.  (SBU) Receiving about 54 percent of the vote in what was 
a close race until the end, Yossi Beilin defeated Meretz MK 
Ran Cohen for the chairmanship of the new Yahad ("together") 
party in its March 16 primary.  Cohen Knesset colleagues 
Zahava Gal-On and Avshalom Vilan came out in support of 
Beilin at the last minute, which, aside from embarrassing 
Cohen, may have sealed Beilin's victory.  As one of the 
architects and untiring champions of the Geneva Accords, 
Beilin has a reputation for being the worldly "statesman," 
while Cohen, with kibbutznik roots, is known for his 
overarching concern about social causes and improving the 
plight of Israel's poor.  Both candidates reportedly objected 
to how they were labeled.  Upon accepting his defeat, Cohen 
magnanimously announced that he would not establish a rival 
camp. 
 
3.  (SBU) The win signaled a political comeback of as yet 
undetermined strength for Beilin, who, after a long political 
career in Labor, including ministerial positions in Labor 
governments, left that party to join Meretz in December 2002 
after Labor placed him too low on its candidate list even to 
compete for a Knesset seat.  Beilin failed to obtain a 
position high enough on the Meretz Party list to receive a 
seat in the 16th Knesset, since Meretz lost four of its 
previous 10 seats.  On November 20, 2003, Meretz approved a 
merger with Shahar, a movement formed by Beilin in June 2002, 
to form Yahad (reftel).  Beilin is not currently a Knesset 
Member. 
 
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Beilin Calls on Peres to Form Opposition 
---------------------------------------- 
 
4. (SBU) Using his chance in the media spotlight, Beilin 
turned his March 16 victory speech into a challenge to his 
long-time mentor and Labor leader Shimon Peres to form what 
he referred to as an "opposition management" in order to 
"shorten Sharon's days in office."  Beilin termed the Sharon 
government "the worst Israel has had," noting the continuing 
"cycle of terror attacks."  (Note: Interestingly, the day 
after Beilin declared his election a victory for the Geneva 
Accords, full-page advertisements appeared in Israel's three 
major newspapers calling for readers to cast electronic votes 
in favor of the Geneva Accords on March 24, in the first of 
several "interactive demonstrations."  Justice Minister Lapid 
announced March 17 that the State Comptroller would 
investigate the funding sources for Beilin's election 
campaign and for the Geneva initiative.)  Beilin warned Labor 
not to join a Sharon government, threatening that if it did, 
he would "fight (Labor) more than we would fight the Likud." 
 
5.  (SBU) The media did not carry any official Labor 
reactions to Beilin's speech.  Less than 24 hours after 
Beilin's pronouncements, however, PM Sharon met with Labor 
faction chair MK Dalia Itzik, reportedly to provide more 
details about his disengagement plan.  In addition, Ha'aretz 
reported that at a press conference convened by Labor on 
March 17, Peres "declined to give a guarantee that Labor 
would under no circumstances join a Sharon-led government." 
In a display of the confusion surrounding Labor's intentions, 
the Ma'ariv website, however, reported that Peres "outright 
rejected" the notion that it planned to form a unity 
government with Sharon. 
 
-------------------- 
Is Anyone Listening? 
-------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) The media paid scant attention to, and pundits spent 
little energy speculating over, who would win the Yahad 
elections.  Meretz MK Roman Bronfman told poloff late 
afternoon of March 16 that he had no idea who would win, and 
had no interest in speculating about the results or its 
ramifications for Yahad.  Most editorials on Beilin's win and 
on Beilin the man dismissed him as too far to the left and 
too far removed from the average Israeli to be a serious 
player in Israeli politics. 
 
7. (C) Labor activist and organizer for the Western Galilee 
Nimrod Vizansky, a kibbutznik, commented to poloff on March 
17 that Beilin "does not have much influence," and asserted 
that "whatever Beilin says right after the elections is not 
very important."  While winning the Yahad chairmanship might 
have satisfied Beilin's political ambitions, Vizansky noted, 
Beilin is still "a small fish in a small pond." 
 
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