Israel's Labor Party taps soldier-politicians

Two retired military chiefs will face off in a vote to lead the dovish party in the wake of last summer's Lebanon war.

By Joshua Mitnick | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the May 30, 2007 edition

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Tel Aviv - A pair of ex-military chiefs will contest the leadership of Israel's dovish Labor Party in a runoff vote next month, signaling renewed public appetite for soldier politicians after last summer's botched war in Lebanon.

The election last year of a pair of career lawmakers to the top two security posts was initially celebrated as a sign of a more normal brand of politics, but after Israel failed to snuff out Hizbullah's cross-border rocket attacks, an insecure public is now less likely to accept candidates with thin military experience, analysts say.

Former premier Ehud Barak and Ami Ayalon, an ex-navy chief, were declared Tuesday the top two vote-getters in a primary vote held Monday. They are vying to replace discredited Defense Minister Amir Peretz, the outgoing Labor chairman, whose reputation has suffered along with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's.

"We're a nation at war.Military experience, and knowledge of defense issues is essential component of national leadership," says Michael Oren, a military historian and a senior fellow at the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem research institute. "We discovered last summer what its like to have someone who doesn't have that background."

Gideon Rahat, a political science professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, says that the push for military experience can be a setback for a democracy, but necessary given Israel's position. "Of course this is a problem for a society that wants to become more democratic and more equal.... This is not normal, but Israel is not normal; it lives in a problematic neighborhood."

Mr. Barak's first stint as Israeli premier collapsed in 2001 amid failed attempts at peace with the Palestinians and the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising. But the ex-army chief of staff has made a political comeback, placing first with 35.6 percent of the primary vote.

Mr. Ayalon, the former navy admiral who went on to lead Israel's Shin Bet secret service agency, polled 30.6 percent. Mr. Peretz, the current party leader, finished third with 22.4 percent.

The results of the runoff in two weeks are expected to be a key indicator of the life expectancy of Mr. Olmert's paralyzed coalition government. Ayalon, the more dovish of the two, who has run on a reputation for clean politics, has pledged to push for Olmert to step down. Barak has also said that Olmert should resign, but he hedged that call by volunteering to serve as defense minister in any future caretaker government headed by Olmert.

During Monday's primary vote, there was a striking contrast between the first- and third-place candidates as they made their final "get out the vote" push.

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