From the Editor PERES AS SABOTEUR We hoped that Peres would sink into a well-financed retirement on the synagogue and general lecture circuit. He is indeed cashing in, at $40,000 a talk (not yet, to be sure, at the level of Abba Eban, whose sonorities fetch $100,000, but a living wage). Still greedy for power, however, even in old age he lives up to the description of him by his former companions-in-Labor Levi Eshkol, Yitzhak Rabin and Moshe Sharett. He remains "engaged in slander and libel" (Levi Eshkol); "a tireless saboteur...constantly undermining the position of the Prime Minister" (Yitzhak Rabin); a "totally negative" figure whose political advancement "indicates a malignant moral deterioration" (Moshe Sharett). In opposition, Peres's determination to ignore the electoral results has comical as well as more serious aspects. On the funny side, Peres, whose notions of the nature of "democracy" are derived from the former eastern bloc (remember, they were all "democratic republics"), has called Netanyahu a "Bolshevik" on the grounds that he wants to privatize the economy! To quote this Peres gem precisely: "We must not fear the Bolsheviks who are presently in power. We must come out with an informational campaign against their scare tactics concerning the privatization of authorities." It is also humorous to find Peres declaring it his duty to go on negotiating with Arab leaders as if he were still Prime Minister on the grounds that he represents one-half of Israel that voted for a continuation of the peace process. When Peres was in power, along with such acolytes as Yael Dayan, he would claim that a majority of one was sufficient to give the government authority to make decisions with the most profound effect upon the country's future. He had no qualms about totally disenfranchising the "minority," even though that minority included a substantial majority of the Jewish population. Peres did not believe that he needed a majority of even one Jew. The Arabs would do fine, and of course his government rested squarely on the votes of Arab parties who made no bones that they identified with Arafat and the pan-Arab goal of eliminating Israel as a Jewish state. Peres is also funny in his petty jealousy of Netanyahu's success on his U.S. trip, particularly his reception in Congress. "The standing ovations received by the Prime Minister are not important" declared Peres. "It is a bad start." Peres even compared the number of rounds of applause received by Netanyahu and himself in their respective addresses to Congress. Peres announced he had received more! Unfortunately, Peres, out of power, is no more a purely comical figure than he was in power, where pronouncements like "There is nothing to learn from history" and crack-brained idylls of a new Middle East and a newly arrived swords-into-plowshares "world of tomorrow" gave him solid credentials to go down in history as the silliest leader in modern times. Peres is still capable of doing

Netanyahu real damage as he undercuts his policies by negotiating with Arab leaders despite specifically being asked not to do so. (Netanyahu declared it was improper for Peres to hold sessions with Arab leaders while the government was attempting to negotiate with the same people.) Peres acts less as a representative of "half the Israeli people," than as a representative of the Arabs, pure and simple. As a means of putting pressure on Israel's new government, King Hassan of Morocco has refused to meet with Netanyahu. So Peres goes off to meet with him! Netanyahu has been striving to pressure Arafat into living up to previous agreements prior to meeting with him. So Peres went off to meet with Arafat. The meeting, scheduled for Ramallah, took place in Gaza when a furious Netanyahu refused to allow Arafat to fly there. Netanyahu policy adviser David Bar Illan declared bluntly that Peres had "taken an irresponsible role," inciting the PLO towards violence and a breakdown in talks with the Likud government. And indeed, encouraged by Peres's support, Arafat called for a general strike and a mass movement of Arabs on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Using his lecture-circuit pot of gold, Peres is creating an institutional base in the form of yet another institute. (Even Peres, despite his recent declaration that he has "massive, undisputed backing" in the Labor rank and file, seems to anticipate being replaced as head of the party.) He will be setting up an institute in Jerusalem "to advance peace," especially, he says, in the form of regional economic projects. These are likely to work out as well as the projects he launched while Prime Minister. The Jerusalem Post's investigative reporter Steve Rodan has described how ministers and civil servants alike were told to implement lofty proposals for economic cooperation with a number of Arab states, all of which fizzled out. This is not to say that Peres's efforts to achieve economic cooperation between Jews and Arabs has been a total loss. The Jerusalem Post reports on a gang of Syrian-born Jews who have cooperated with East (Continued on p.10) Outpost is published by Americans for A Safe Israel 147 East 76 St. - New York, NY 10021 tel (212) 628-9400 / fax (212) 988-4065 Guest Editor: Rael Jean Isaac Editorial Board: Erich Isaac, Ruth King, George Rubin, Herbert Zweibon. Outpost is distributed free to members of Americans For a Safe Israel. Annual membership: $50.

Outpost               - 2 -               September 1996