January 3 2020 Preventing Disaster for the Center-Left Bloc by Ephraim Sneh, Served in Four Israeli Cabinets

Israel and the Middle East News Update

Friday, January 3

Headlines:

• Top Iranian General Qassim Suleimani Is Killed on Trump’s Orders • The Killing of Iran's General Soleimani is Hugely Significant- Analysis • Israel IDF Chiefs to Convene After Soleimani Killing • Trump Envoy to Visit Israel, Discuss Middle East Peace Plan • Court Rejects Petition Seeking to Bar Netanyahu from Forming Govt’ • Poll: left Bloc Leads, Likud Steady Despite PM’s Immunity Request • Leaders from Israel, Cyprus, Greece Sign EastMed Gas Pipe Deal • Israel Set to Build Advanced National Communications Satellite

Commentary:

• JTA: “My Plan to Fight Anti-Semitism” - By Joe Biden, Democratic presidential candidate and former US vice president

• Ha’aretz: “Preventing Disaster for the Center-Left Bloc” - By Ephraim Sneh, served in four Israeli cabinets

S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor

News Excerpts January 3, 2020 New York Times Top Iranian General Qassim Suleimani Is Killed on Trump’s Orders The commander of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was killed early Friday in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that was authorized by President Trump, American officials said. The commander, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, and several officials from Iraqi militias backed by Tehran were killed when an American MQ-9 Reaper drone fired missiles into a convoy that was leaving the airport. General Suleimani was the architect of nearly every significant operation by Iranian intelligence and military forces over the past two decades, and his death was a staggering blow for Iran at a time of sweeping geopolitical conflict. See also, “Who is Qassem Suleimani? Iran farm boy who became more powerful than a president” (Guardian)

CNN The Killing of Iran's General Soleimani is Hugely Significant- Analysis The significance of Thursday's US strike against Qasem Soleimani cannot be overstated because he ran Iran's military operations across the Middle East. Here is how General Joseph Votel, the then- commander of US Central Command that oversees American military operations in the Middle East, explained Soleimani's role in 2018: "Wherever you see Iranian activity, you see Qasem Soleimani, whether it is in Syria, whether it is in Iraq, whether it is in Yemen, he is there and it is the Quds Force, the organization which he leads, that I think is the principal threat as we look at this and the principal ones that are stoking this destabilizing activity." See also, “The Death of Qasem Suleimani Will Lead to Violence in the Region, Chaos in Iraq” (New York Magazine)

Times of Israel Israel IDF Chiefs to Convene After Soleimani Killing An Israeli ski resort near the Syrian border that was the site of a previous missile attack was closed to visitors on Friday, amid fears of Iran exacting revenge on Israel for the US killing of a powerful Iranian general. The Israel Defense Forces said it had ordered the Mount Hermon Ski resort in the Golan Heights shuttered for the day “in light of a situational assessment.” Meanwhile Defense Minister Naftali Bennett called a situation assessment with the heads of the defense establishment at military headquarters in Tel Aviv. PM Netanyahu is in Greece Friday morning after signing a deal for a gas pipeline the previous day. There was no immediate news on whether he planned to cut his trip short.

Ha’aretz Trump Envoy to Visit Israel, Discuss Middle East Peace Plan U.S. President Donald Trump's special assistant Avi Berkowitz, who is leading the Middle East peace plan, will arrive in Israel next week, signaling the White House hasn’t fully given up on promoting the initiative. The peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians has been in deep freeze since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government after Israel's April 9 election. Berkowitz, a close aide to Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, has been working on the plan since Jason Greenblatt left his post as the president's special envoy to the Middle East in September 2019. Berkowitz joined Kushner on his last visit to Israel in October. See also, “Avi Berkowitz making his first trip to Israel since taking office“ (JPost)

Times of Israel Court Rejects Petition Seeking to Bar Netanyahu from Forming Govt’ The High Court of Justice threw out a petition on Thursday that urged it to bar Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from forming a government after the upcoming March election due to the charges against him in three criminal cases. The court said it would not make a decision on the matter, because the timing was “premature.” The panel of justices led by Supreme Court President Esther Hayut indicated it was too early to give a ruling as the election has not yet taken place, and said the petition may be more pertinent if and when Netanyahu is about to be tasked with forming a government after the election. “According to Basic Law: The Government, the president is the authorized party to impose on one of the Knesset members the task of assembling the government. See also, “Israel supreme court dismisses 'premature' Netanyahu petition” (Guardian)

Ha’aretz Poll: left Bloc Leads, Likud Steady Despite PM’s Immunity Request Polls published Thursday night, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested immunity from trial in the three corruption cases against him, show that if the election was held today the center- left bloc would lead over the right-wing bloc by two Knesset seats. According to a Channel 13 poll, the center-left bloc would receive 58 seats compared to 56 for the right wing bloc – leaving both blocs short of the 61 seats necessary to form a governing coalition. A Channel 12 poll predicts the center- left bloc will receive 57 Knesset seats, compared to 55 for the right-wing bloc. In both polls, Benny Gantz's Kahol Lavan emerges as the largest party, two Knesset seats ahead of Netanyahu's Likud. See also, “Jerusalem Post poll finds 6-seat Blue and White lead” (JPost)

Bloomberg Leaders From Israel, Cyprus, Greece Sign EastMed Gas Pipe Deal Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended in Athens Thursday the signing ceremony for the accord to construct the Eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline.The 1,900-kilometer (1,181 miles) link will connect recently discovered, and to-be-found, gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean basin with European markets through Cyprus, Greece and Italy. The project is being developed by IGI Poseidon SA, a joint venture of Greece’s state-owned supplier Depa SA and Edison SpA. Italy is set to sign the agreement at a later date. “Today, we did not just sign an advantageous agreement, but also cemented our decision for strategic engagement in a region that’s in need of cooperation,” Mitsotakis said at the ceremony. “EastMed is not a threat to anyone.” See also, “PM cuts short Greece tripafter Soleimani killing (TOI)

Ynet News Israel Set to Build Advanced National Communications Satellite Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer will develop and manufacture a national communications satellite that is expected to serve the country's needs for at least 15 years. According to the agreement signed between Israel Aerospace Industries and the government on Thursday, the development of the satellite, dubbed 'Dror-1' will take up to four years and will cost approximately NIS 200 million ($58 million) to develop. IAI is expected to utilize mainly Israeli-developed technologies to build the satellite, such as a digital communications payload and "space smartphone" capabilities, enabling communication flexibility.See also, “IAI to build Israel's national communications satellite” (Globes)

JTA- January 3, 2020 My Plan to Fight Anti-Semitism By Joe Biden, Democratic presidential candidate and former US vice president

• Anti-Semitic hate crimes are currently on the rise across the United States. In 2018, there were two deadly shootings at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway, violent attacks now regularly plague the Jews of New York City and Jews continue to be the target of most religion-based hate crimes across the country. What is your plan to address the rise in anti-Semitism across the US? • We have a serious problem with rising tides of white supremacy and anti-Semitism — both in America, on the political right and left, and around the world. It’s not a new phenomenon, but it is the responsibility of leaders everywhere to work aggressively to combat this poison. Instead, we have a president who, in clear language and in code, encourages and emboldens it. • After Charlottesville, Donald Trump gave renewed license and safe harbor for hate to white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, and the KKK. There’s a short line from those people marching with tiki torches in Charlottesville chanting “Jews will not replace us” to the shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh saying Jews “were committing genocide to his people.” • We need a comprehensive approach to battling anti-Semitism that takes seriously both the violence that accompanies it and the hateful and dangerous lies that undergird it. Sadly, anti- Semitism takes many different forms and cuts across ideology, political party, group and nation. So we must remain vigilant and speak out every time we see the persistent evil of anti-Semitism rear its ugly head. It’s incumbent on all of us to stand against those who traffic in pernicious stereotypes, or who seek to scare and divide us for political gain. Silence is complicity, so we must speak out — every time. We must call hate by its proper name, and condemn it. • We must also address the extremist, white supremacist violence that has sparked so much bloodshed, especially with Trump fanning the flames of hatred and hollowing out resources we put in place during the Obama-Biden administration to address domestic extremism. I’ll restore that funding and work to pass a federal domestic terrorism law. We can craft legislation that respects free speech and civil liberties, while making the same commitment as a nation to root out domestic terrorism as we have to stopping international terrorism. We must appoint leadership at the US Department of Justice who will prioritize the prosecution of hate crimes — making clear that there is no place for such vitriol in this country. • And we must break the nexus between extremism and gun violence by enacting sensible gun control laws. As president, I’ll make sure assault weapons and high capacity magazines are banned again, and we’ll put in place a buy-back program to get as many of these weapons of war as possible off our streets. • Finally, we know that this hate didn’t begin with Donald Trump and it won’t end when he leaves office. American history is not a fairy-tale. The battle for the soul of this nation has been a constant push-and-pull between the American ideal that we are all created equal — and the harsh reality that racism and anti-Semitism have long torn us apart. So we must renew our commitment to our highest ideals and do what this president cannot — stand together against hate; stand up for what, at our best, this nation believes.

• A number of Democratic lawmakers have recently critiqued Israel in ways that some have characterized as anti-Semitic. What is the line between legitimate criticism of Israel and anti- Semitism to you? • No nation, including Israel, is immune from legitimate criticism. For example, I have for decades opposed the expansion of settlement activity as counterproductive to peace and damaging to US support for Israel, and I have shared those criticisms directly with Israeli leadership, from Menachem Begin to Bibi Netanyahu. But Israel should never be unfairly singled out or targeted. It’s dangerous. And any action designed to marginalize one ethnic or religious group imperils us all — that’s something the Jewish people know all too well. • That’s why it’s critical to stand against biased resolutions and attempts to delegitimize Israel at the United Nations, and why it’s important to ensure Israel, like other nations, is represented on important committees there. And it’s why I’ve been clear: the calls here in the United States to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel are wrong. Period. The BDS movement singles out Israel — home to millions of Jews — in a way that is inconsistent with the treatment of other nations, and it too often veers into anti-Semitism, while letting Palestinians off the hook for their choices. • Countless politicians have tried to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and yet, a two-state outcome now seems more dream than possibility. What are your concrete plans to address the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians?I believe a two-state solution is the only path to long-term security for Israel, while sustaining its identity as a Jewish and democratic state. It is also the only way to ensure Palestinian dignity and their legitimate interest in national self-determination. And it is a necessary condition to take full advantage of the opening that exists for greater cooperation between Israel and its Arab neighbors. • At present, neither the Israeli nor Palestinian leadership seems willing to take the political risks necessary to make progress through direct negotiations. This challenge has been made even more difficult by President Trump’s unilateralism, his moves to cut off assistance to the Palestinians and his equivocation on the importance of a two-state solution. I will restore credible engagement with both sides to the conflict. America must sustain its ironclad commitment to Israel’s security – including the unprecedented support provided by the Obama- Biden administration. It is also essential to resume assistance to the Palestinian Authority that supports Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, people-to-people programs, economic development, and humanitarian aid and health care for the Palestinian people. • My administration will urge both sides to take steps to keep the prospect of a two-state outcome alive. Palestinian leaders should end any incitement and glorification of violence, and they must level with their people about the legitimacy and permanence of Israel as a Jewish state in the historic homeland of the Jewish people. Israeli leaders should stop the expansion of West Bank settlements and talk of annexation that would make two states impossible to achieve. They must recognize the legitimacy of Palestinians’ aspirations for statehood. Both sides should work to provide more relief to the people of Gaza while working to weaken, and ultimately replace, Hamas. And Arab states should take more steps toward normalization with Israel and increase their financial and diplomatic support for building Palestinian institutions. • Is there any part of American Jewish culture, or Jewish figure from history, that has been particularly meaningful to you in your life? I’ve had the honor of meeting every Israeli prime minister since Golda Meir and formed close relationships with many of them. In particular, I 5

treasured my deep, personal friendship with Shimon Peres and the wisdom and kindness with which he imbued his leadership. He had an unyielding commitment to the inherent dignity and worth of every single human being, and in my opinion, he embodied the conscience and the soul of Israel. Shimon was always about hope, always about the future. • I met him on my first visit to Israel in 1973 — during my first year in the Senate. That’s also the trip where I met with Meir and her then-aide Yitzhak Rabin for close to an hour. She went through what happened during the Six Day War, the price that was paid, and painted a bleak picture that, quite frankly, scared me. I had just come from Egypt, and I had seen what was happening there. But when we walked out for the press to take our photo, she said to me: “Senator, don’t worry. We have a secret weapon. You see, we have nowhere else to go.” Just about a month later, the Yom Kippur War touched off. • That experience was foundational for me. It made me understand, in my gut, the threat that the Israeli people live under every day — but also their resilience. Peres and Meir showed me the spirit of a people who, against all odds, transformed the desert, founded a robust democracy and built a thriving economy based on innovation. It’s why I am and have always been such a strong supporter of Israel. • Have you participated in a Passover seder or other Jewish holiday ritual? If so, what were the circumstances, and what was the experience like for you? I’ve had the honor of sharing many meaningful experiences with Jewish friends and family — celebrating weddings, sitting shiva. During our first year in office, in 2009, President Obama became the first president to host a seder at the White House — a tradition he maintained each year of his presidency. In 2013, Jill and I were proud to have the first Vice Presidential Sukkah at the Naval Observatory, and we welcomed Jewish children from the community to come decorate it. It was incredibly meaningful to be able to host our friends from the community during Sukkot with traditional hospitality. And in 2014, I presided over the lighting of the National Menorah to mark the start of Hanukkah with a message that is critical for us all to remember today: “Jewish heritage is American heritage.”

Summary: At present, neither the Israeli nor Palestinian leadership seems willing to take the political risks necessary to make progress through direct negotiations. This challenge has been made even more difficult by President Trump’s unilateralism, his moves to cut off assistance to

the Palestinians and his equivocation on the importance of a two-state solution. I will restore credible engagement with both sides to the conflict. America must sustain its ironclad commitment to Israel’s security – including the unprecedented support provided by the Obama- Biden administration. It is also essential to resume assistance to the Palestinian Authority that supports Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, people-to-people programs, economic development, and humanitarian aid and health care for the Palestinian people. My administration will urge both sides to take steps to keep the prospect of a two-state outcome alive. Palestinian

leaders should end any incitement and glorification of violence, and they must level with their people about the legitimacy and permanence of Israel as a Jewish state in the historic homeland of the Jewish people. Israeli leaders should stop the expansion of West Bank settlements and talk of annexation that would make two states impossible to achieve.

Ha’atetz – January 3 2020 Preventing Disaster for the Center-Left Bloc By Ephraim Sneh, served in four Israeli cabinets

• Of all possible outcomes of the third Knesset elections, expected in March 2020, the gravest is a narrow right-wing coalition that will govern Israel. Such a government will accelerate annexation of West Bank areas and will turn Israel to an obscurant pariah state. This scenario will be feasible if the right-wing parties cross the threshold of 61 seats in the next Knesset. It may happen if the center-left bloc won’t have this number of seats. What can bring it about, besides low voter turnout of Israeli Arabs, is if Labor-Gesher or the Democratic Union , or both parties, do not enter the Knesset because they don’t pass the minimum threshold of 3.25%. Both parties are at such risk. Anyone who can help make it happen, would not be able to look in his children’s eyes, nor at the eyes of the voters who want a sane Israel. If a merger of these two parties may prevent their disappearance and lead to triumph of the center-left bloc – this merger must be done. • This is the main consideration, but not the only one. As in every Western modern state, Israel needs a social-democratic party. A party which locks itself in a narrow niche can't aspire to lead Israeli society, it is not the way a social-democratic party behaves. All parties of this kind in Europe never gave up their clear position on defense, security and foreign policy, even in countries that do not face urgent and serious threats as Israel does. Today, Labor – Gesher doesn’t have a clear and strong voice on security matters, not about the strategic threats and not about the necessity to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. The Labor voters are in need of such a voice. When they don't hear it they prefer to vote for another party. The Israeli voter is seeking a leadership that will provide him or her with a serious attitude on defense, above all other issues. At the ballot box, the Israeli voter votes for those who inspire a sense of security. The Labor- Gesher list lacks today such inspiration. • In its parliamentary team there are excellent MKs, but one kind of MK is missing: one with the record, experience and authority on defense and national security. In case of a merger of the two lists, the united list will include Major General (Ret.) Yair Golan, the former deputy Chief-of Staff of the IDF. He is the much needed person. General Golan is not just a man with an impressive military record. His public warning at the Holocaust memorial event in 2016 , that horrifying processes like the one that took place in Europe of the thirties may happen in Israel, cost him the appointment of Chief of Staff of the IDF. He knew it, but preferred to say what he believed, no matter the consequences. It was a brave moral act. What we need today is a moral leadership. • So a merger of the two lists may provide an opportunity for the creation of a list with a clear position on social and strategic issues. It gives a chance for the rebuilding of an Israeli Social Democratic movement. Collection of good names is not enough for such rebuilding. There must be attributes to such a movement: demand of social justice, caring about defense and security, brave quest for peace. This was the way of Yitzhak Rabin. A way that many long for, but only few dare to march along that path again. • A merger of the two lists on the left is not just a political maneuver to prevent their disappearance in the coming elections. It may be a responsible act of leadership that may have a far reaching effect on Israel's future. 7