Labor's Demise
Many supporters of the Likud and other nationalist parties are gloating as the Labor party continues its demise, following the election debacle and the resignation of Amram Mitzna after just 6 months.
They should not be.
If anything, Labor should be the ones gloating, as its positions on the issues that deadlocked Israel for decades are prevailing. Even PM Sharon supports a Palestinian state and the destruction of communities in Judea/Samaria, a radical change from his positions in his autobiography "Warrior."
Labor's problem is that instead of recognizing the victory of the pragmatic left, it continues to move farther to the extreme left, naively believing that Israel has a peace partner and/or calling for unilateral withdrawal even without peace, an act that would assure that Israel would have no chips with which to bargain if a viable peace partner ever arises.
The current differences between Likud and Labor are thus not on the issue of territorial compromise (though Likud might still be a tougher negotiator in this regard) but on what Israel should give up even without real peace.
posted on 5/09/2003
