israelinsider: Why Barak should go home

Ellis Shuman is israelinsider's Senior Editor. Prior to joining the israelinsider team, he served as webmaster for Yazam. Mr. Shuman was trained in the hospitality industry, and worked in many capacities at the Neve Ilan Hotel and at the Jerusalem Hilton. In addition, Mr. Shuman serves as Israeli Culture Guide for About.com. ellis@israelinsider.com

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Why Barak should go home
By Ellis Shuman February 21, 2001

I voted for Ehud Barak. My vote was a conscious decision, based on my unconditional support for some, if not all, of the initiatives that the Prime Minister was attempting to advance, both on the diplomatic and social agendas. I did not vote for Barak out of a loathing of Ariel Sharon, but because I actually wanted, in all honesty, for Ehud Barak to continue to serve as Israel's Prime Minister.

It was with a bit of trepidation that I sat glued to my television set on the night of February 6, 2001, waiting for the election results to be announced. The foregone conclusion of the pollsters and the media was that a Sharon landslide was guaranteed; now the only thing left to determine was the margin of victory.

When the television anchormen announced the extent of Sharon's majority, I accepted the result as the direction my country would follow in the coming years. Ariel Sharon would serve as Prime Minister; that had been decided. The question remained as to what role Ehud Barak would play opposite Sharon's leadership.

A short time later that night I had my answer. "The electorate has spoken, and I respect the verdict of democracy," Barak declared in his concession speech. Barak concluded his short remarks by saying "I intend to resign from the Knesset and from my position as the leader Chairman of the Labor Party and from the Knesset."

With the announcement of his impending withdrawal from politics, Ehud Barak had taken the country by surprise. It wasn't the first time that the Prime Minister had made such a move. Only two months before, he had shocked the country by officially resigning from the helm of the government, triggering the special elections for the office of Prime Minister.

Like many in the Israeli public, I respected Ehud Barak's decision; he was taking personal responsibility for the electoral loss and the failure of his policies and peace efforts.

Ehud Barak's path had failed. It did not bring peace, and was not accepted by either the Palestinians or by Barak's fellow Israelis. Therefore, it is time to find a new path. This new path may be one shared by other parties in a national unity government, or may be an alternative path, promoted by a revived Labor Party sitting in the opposition.

The new path calls for new leadership. There is no shortage of good minds and potential leaders within the ranks of the Labor Party. The only thing preventing new leadership from arising is the continued presence of Ehud Barak and elder party statesman Shimon Peres on the political scene.

The election results serve as a shining beacon demanding change - change in the country's direction and change in the Labor Party leadership.

That is why it is so hard to comprehend and accept that now, just two weeks after Sharon's victory and his own retirement announcement, Ehud Barak still holds the reins of the Labor Party's negotiations.

A potential deadlock has arisen, over the possibility that Ehud Barak will serve as Defense Minister in the new government. This possibility is rejected both by right-wingers (in the National Religious Party) and by left-wingers, including Meretz, the Arab factions, and members of Barak's own party.

Ehud Barak has hinted that "without him, there is no national unity government." What Barak has failed to understand is that although the Israeli public favors a broad-based leadership for the country in these trying times, they don't necessary see Barak's inclusion in such a government as essential to its creation.

Ehud Barak - it is time to accept the will of the people, which your concession speech suggested you understood. You should live up to your word and go home. The Labor Party, the future national unity government and the Israeli public are waiting.