US embassy cable - 04TELAVIV1706

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001706 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINR, IS, GOI INTERNAL 
SUBJECT: ZEVULUN ORLEV, MINISTER OF LABOR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Norman Olsen for reasons 1.4 (B) and 
 (D). 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) Zevulun Orlev, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, 
is a moderate member of the rightist National Religious Party 
(NRP).  He has primarily focused on domestic affairs and 
internal NRP machinations.  Orlev has endeavored to move the 
NRP into a moderate position in order to prove that it is an 
acceptable coalition partner to whichever government is in 
power.  If, however, PM Sharon follows through with his 
unilateral Gaza disengagement plan, Orlev may have difficulty 
preventing the NRP from leaving the government coalition in 
protest over the plan.  Orlev has expressed strong ideas on 
the route of the Separation Fence -- wanting to keep the 
Ariel settlement on the western side of the Fence -- and 
favors expelling Arafat.  He speaks out and acts against the 
secular Shinui party's attempts to separate religion from 
government, noting that such separation would "damage the 
Jewish character of the state...."  Orlev is an effective and 
prolific legislator; in the 15th Knesset he sponsored 19 
bills that were passed into law, and made the most speeches 
on the Knesset floor.  End Summary. 
 
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Political Career 
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2. (C) Zevulun Orlev, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, 
began his Knesset career in 1999.  He has spent his time in 
the Knesset focused on domestic affairs, rather than on NRP's 
bread and butter issues of the peace process and settlements. 
 During the 15th Knesset, he served on several committees, 
including a stint as chairman of the Education and Culture 
Committee, and as a member of the special committee for 
school dropout rates.  He won an award for being the "Best 
Legislator of the 15th Knesset" in November 2001 by 
sponsoring 19 bills into law, and making the most speeches in 
the Knesset.  Prior to his Knesset career, he served as 
director general in three ministries, Religious Affairs, 
Education, and Culture. 
 
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Party Politics 
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3. (C) Orlev has been working to moderate NRP's image.  This 
is exemplified by the NRP for the first time sending a woman, 
Gila Finkelstein, to the Knesset in the last elections. 
Recently Orlev has also been advocating a "wait and see" 
position on NRP withdrawal from the government over Sharon's 
disengagement plan.  The goal of Orlev and the NRP leadership 
is to remain in the center-right of the political spectrum, 
enabling them to join any coalition in power and snap up key 
ministries for the party.  In 2002, Orlev, and NRP colleagues 
Shaul Yahalom and Yitzhak Levy attempted to regain lost 
Knesset seats by placing Effie Eitam, a popular right-wing 
firebrand and retired IDF general, into the position of party 
chairman for the prime ministerial elections.  Their strategy 
proved unsuccessful when Sharon won the election by a clear 
majority.  Orlev and others in the NRP's central committee 
have been maneuvering to replace Eitam with Orlev, leaving 
Yahalom to move into the number two slot.  Eitam has been 
trying to reduce Orlev's influence, but has been largely 
unsuccessful.  In the past, NRP's seats were needed to form a 
coalition.  In the 2003 elections, Sharon's strong showing 
meant that the NRP was not needed, but the party was welcomed 
into the coalition. 
 
4. (C) Sharon's unilateral Gaza disengagement plan threatens 
the interests of NRP's core constituancy, the settlers. 
Orlev, unlike the majority of NRP members, nonetheless 
opposes the party leaving the government coalition if the 
plan is brought to the Knesset.  In a recent interview with a 
right-wing TV station, Arutz 7, Orlev said he would support 
withdrawing from the coalition only if he is convinced that 
the NRP has absolutely no influence on coalition decisions 
regarding any withdrawal.  Orlev noted that Sharon has not 
brought the issue to the Cabinet, that he has no majority 
because of the right-wing faction, and that as long as this 
is the case, Sharon will not bring the matter to a Knesset 
vote. 
 
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Anti-Shinui 
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5. (C) The entry of the secular Shinui party into the 
government after the last election has led Orlev to speak out 
against that party's attempted reforms.  When the Interior 
Ministry, led by Shinui MK Avraham Poraz, declined to enforce 
laws against public display of leavened foods during Passover 
last year, Orlev said that it was "damaging the Jewish 
character of the state and the delicate social fabric of 
Israeli society."  He also spoke out against suspending fines 
on businesses that violate the law by employing Jews on the 
Sabbath.  He told Ha'aretz in March 2003 that "suspending the 
(Sabbath) inspector's work was a blatant violation of the 
status quo on religion-and-state issues."  Orlev also voted 
against a proposal by Interior Minister Poraz that would 
allow non-Israeli citizens who had served in the IDF for 18 
months to apply for citizenship, arguing that this proposal 
would dilute Israel's Jewish identity. 
 
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Views on Arafat and the Separation Fence 
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6. (C) In response to the January 28 suicide bomb attack in 
Jerusalem, Orlev urged the PM to "implement the security 
cabinet's decision to exile Arafat without delay."  Orlev 
stated that if Arafat were not expelled it would leave the 
door open to other attacks.  This past fall, during the 
debate over the route of the separation fence, six ministers, 
including Orlev, objected to the decision to route the fence 
west of Ariel, as well as other settlements deep into West 
Bank territory.  At the time Orlev told Arutz-7 television 
that Israel "was not an American colony and that our first 
priority is to protect our citizens in Ariel and everywhere 
else."  He was also quoted saying that Israelis must tell 
Americans, "that they must not interfere in our defense 
considerations." 
 
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Personal Details 
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7. (C) Zevulun Orlev was born in Palestine in 1945; he is 
married, with four children, and lives in Jerusalem.  Orlev 
began his working career as a teacher.  He has a degree in 
Humanities and Social Sciences from Hebrew University and a 
degree in teaching from Moreshet Yaakov College.  He speaks 
some English. 
 
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