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The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, September 14, 1989-Page 9
on
Rising stars in~Likud, Labor and Shas
iticians comes of age
. ZE'EV CHAFETS
JERUSALEM -
Not long ago. 2,500 fans watcheda basketball game between a team of radio reporters and a pick-up squad of Knesset members. The game was not a great athletic event but the spectators got what they paid for: a look at some of the rising stjars in the real Israeli natioii^l pastime — politics.
Such a game could not have taken place even a decade or two ago, when most Knesset members were elderly Eastern Europiean Jews whose sports were chess and ideological arm wrestling. But the past few years have brought a new generation of young legislators to the parliament. Who they are and what they stand for will shape Israeli policy well into the next century.
It was the Likud that first opened the door: In the 1984 election, 11 of its members of Knesset — a quarter of its pjarliamentary contingent — were under 40. Labor chose only one, Haim Ramon. This disparity was embarasising for Labor, and in the 1988 campaign, it chose 10 candidates under the age of 45;
But, If Labor has closed the quantitative gap, the Likud clearly leads in quality. Labor's young guard are mosdy anonymcHis party hacks and only three — Ramon, Deputy Finance Minister Yos-si Beilin and Avrum Burg, a former peace ac^ tivist — are at all well-known.
On the other hand, four of the Likud's ymng l«iders — Moshe Katzav, Ronnie Milo, Dan Mender and Ehud Olmert — are cabinet ministers/Beriyamin Netanyahu, the former UN ambassador, is deputy foreign minister. Benyamin Begin and David Magen are powerful figuries in party circles. . The impact of these young politicos is already obvious. Meridbr, Milo and Olmert are among-Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's closest advisors and played a role in shaping his peace plan. Netanyahu is a confidant of Foreign Minister Moshe Arens And David Magen played a key
Benjamin Netanyahu
part in the Likiid's near sweep of this year's municipal elections.
The young generation of Likud politicians can be divided into "princes" and "paupers."
The princes — Olmert, Meridor, Milo,_ Netanyahu, Benny Begin, and MKs Uzi Landau and Tzachi Hanegbi -^'are sons of prominent Likud figures. They have known one another all theu* lives and they provide the party with a sense of ideological and personal cohesiveniess. As a group, they are well educated and financially secure. Obnert, who is Arens's candidate for ambassador to the United States, has served in the Knesset for more than 15 yiears; Meridor was cabinet secretary;
ewisn ram
^fcwig^ of rfie past: survey
WALTHAM, Mass.-
American Jewish families have undergone dramatic and wide-sweeping changes in the 1980s, according to a recent article in Contemporary Jewry by Sylyia Barack Fishitiari, a research associate at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University here.
"Only 20 years ago, the propNOxtion of American Jewish singles — at six per cent — lagged far behind the 16 per cent pf singles in the general American population. Today, in maiiy major metropolitan areas between one-third to one-fifth of the adult Jewish population exceeds the national average of 19 per cent," says Fishman. "Nearly all American Jewish women in 1970 married while they were in their 20s. Today, age of first marriage has been postponed, as educational and occupational goals supersede the pressure for family formation."
To cite two examples from diverse: geographical areas: Among Baltimore Jewish women in i986,80 per cent of women ages 18 through 24 and 27 per cc;nt of women ages 25 through 34 had never married. Among Dallas JewishWomen in 1989,93 pier cent of wwn-en ages 18. through 24 and 31 per cent of women ages 25 through 34 had never been married.
in comparison, in the 1970 Jewish population study 53 per cent of American Jewish ~>t»men were married by age 24, 85 per cent wereirtanied by age 29, and 95 per cent were married by age 34i
The article pointsr out that singles have become a significant population in Jewish communities across the country. Jewish communal institutions need their talents, energy, and financial contributions, and singles need Jewish institutions.
Even after marriage, American Jewish households today are quite different than they were in 1970, Ftshiiian notes^'Two decades ago, Jewish womeiujnore than any other eth-' nic'groupj chose to leave the labor force vrith the onset of childbearing; most reentered the labor force only slowly, if at all, as theu" children grew into their teen years br older. Today, the majority of American Jewish women continue in the labor force throughout their childbearing years, even when their children are ages newborn to sw years old."
I'he widespread employment outside the home of mothers of preschool and school age children changes the parent-Jewish institution dynamic in several ways, says Fishman, First, it ha^ifereat-ed a growing need for Jewish day care and after-school care. Secondv Jewish schools and institutions can no longer assume that most households include a parent at home who is available to help out with car pw)ls, hot lunch programs, and other institutional needs. Third, parental time and energy available for volunteer work is severely limited . Today's parents often look to Jewish institutions to help them, rather than exploring what they can do for Jewish institutions.
Divorce, resulting in single-parent and blended families, has also had a major unpact on American Jewish households, she notes. Often, the fmancial base of single mother households is severely diminished. Single-parent mothers remain as a group among the least affluent members of the Jewish community, even when they are working full tune.
Elderly Jews have also been sharply affect^ by new trends in American Jewish family life, Fishman continues. Today's Jewish families are often geographically mobile with very special-. ized patterns, resulting in polarization by^agerfia-~ milies with children at home seek out suburban or exurban areas, childless careerists occupy revitalized urban areas, and the elderly either move to communities specifically designed for their needs or-are left behind 4ri less desirable urban areias in neighborhoods largely devoid of Jewish youth; As ia result, the physical and emotional isolation of Jewish elderly has created the need for Jewish programing addressed specifically to those issues. -
"For American Jews today, there is no one model of the family," says Fisliinan. "Although the Jewish family has long been considered the epitome of the strong, close-knit middle-class family, only one-third of Jewish housdiolds today CMisist of mom, dad, and the children. _
"These transformations have nofonly changed the nature of Jewish households, but have critical implications for American Jewish communal institutions as well," she asserts.
Avraham Burg
and Milo served as deputy foreign minister in the last government.
The "paupers," on the other hand, are self-made men (there are almost no women among the jf^oung politicos) from the Sephardic blue-collar class. Minister of Transportation Moshe Katzav, MKs David Magen, Ovadia Eli, iand Jewish Agency treasurer Meir Shitreet all immigrated to Israel as: children from Middle Eastern countries arid eventually became mayors of the ' 'development towns" in which they were raised. As a result they have independent power bases, which the princes lack. Although less affluent and polished than their Ashkenazi contemporaries, they have authenticity in the eyes of their constituents.
On the other side of the aisle, the situation is somewhat different. Unlike the Likud's yes-men, Labor's junior politicians tend to be Young Turks. Yossi Beilin^ Avrum Burg, Haim Ramon, Amir Peretz and Ashkelon mayor Eli Day an are all far to the left in the party spectrum. In any case, the young Laborites are a decade from becoming plausible candidates for leadership.
Once the army was the great recruiting grounds fw young LatMu* p(rfiticians but, in the past decade, the stream of militai^ figures has turned into a trickle. And those who have sought to join have been, for the most part.
rebuffed.
Perhaps the most interesting of the young politico^ comes from a surprisingrquarter — Shas, the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party. He is Rabbi Arye Deeri, a Moroccan immigrant who, although barely 30, serv^ as Israel's minister of the interior.
At first, Deeri's appointment caused.considerable discomfort among secular Israelis. But in office, he has proven a sympathetic and surprisingly liberal figure.
Following recent municipal elections, Deeri pointed to the victory of a Moslem fundamentalist ticket in the city of Urn el Fahm as an example of growing extremism among Israeli Arabs. But when it became clear the new mayor was not a fanatic, the young rabbi did something almost luiprecedented in Israeli politics — he publicly apologized. Many Israelis tried in vain to remember when they had last heard such an admission from a politician.
Although Shas is a minor party, Deeri may well become the firist of the younger generation to be a major political figure. Given the near stalemate between Likud and Labor, the religious factions^ hold the balance of power. A dove among hawks,' Deeri believes in territorial compromise for peace, and it is an open secret that he would like to see the government of national unity replaced by a Labor-led coalition. Should such a configuration emerge, Deeri will certainly play a significant role.
As a rabbi, Deeri did not take part in the Knesset basketball team, but he is clearly varsity material So are Meridor, Olmert, Begin, Netanyahu, Katzav and Magen of the Likud, and Beilin, Burg and Ramon of Labor; They lack the charisma of the old-timers and the hard edges of contemporary leaders. Raised in the relative security of the Jewish state, they are the first generation of politicians without personal knowliedge of! the Holocaust and the struggle for independence, traumatic events that shaped the Country.
It is still too early to know what this will niean for Israeli policy. At present, these rising stairs are still mostly marginal players. But one thing is certain; their time is coming. Within the next few years, followers of the. Israeli national pastime will discover who has been sittiijg on the bench — a collection of substitutes, or a new generation of superstars.
■ .* .. .
Ze 'ev Chafets is a former director of the Israeli Government Press Office and the author of two books on Israel and one on American Jewry. This article was made possible by a grant frpni The Fund For Jerusalem on Jewish Ufe, dprbjectbf The CRB Foundation of Montreal, Canada. Any views expressed are solely those: of the author.
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' The following letter has been sent to The Canadian Jewish News and The Jewish Chronicle in London, England. It was written in response to a recent editorial in . The Jewish Chronicle.
At this sad morifient in Christian-Jewish and Polish-Jewish telations; when the acrimony aroused by the failure to honor Jhe agreement of 21 Nov. 1987 to move the Carmelite nuriinery in Auschwitz, threatens, in your words, to dissipate "the legacy of goodwill . . . bequeathed_ by_ Pope John XXIII," it is important to^ar " 'in mind that the views expressed in Cardinal Glemp'sdeploriable homily delivered . at Jasna Gora on Aug; 27 do not eornmand the assent of important and influential sectors ofpolish society.
Writing in Gazeta Wyborcza, the principal Solidarity daiily, Krysztof Sliwiriskj, a leading Cathoiic intellectual, strongly criticized the Primate's statement .and declared thiat his observations were 'unworthy' Similarly Lech Walesa on Aug. 30 referred to the dispute over the nunnery. as 'a shame and a disgrace' and called for the establishment of an iritemational commission to resolve the issue jieaceftilly.
It is these voKes whkh, iaX this diffkuh -moment, we Jews must endeavor to strengthen. This can only be achieved by keeping cool heads and refraining, from ill-considered and counterproductive emotional demonstrations, such as
the shameful incursion of Rabbi Weiss and his followers into the nunnery. Yet, at the same tune, our Catholic and Polish friends must appreciate that the , failure to honor the 1987 agreement is drastically undermining the position of those who have worked, for many years, to break down the barriers of prejudike -and ignorance which have so tragically divided Poles and Jews as well as Christians and Jews.
A commitment to honor the agreement would be a courageous act paving the way for the further development of the important progress which has been achieveil in these areas in recent years.
Failure to act will only perpetuate the vicious circle of misunderstanding lead^ uig to hatred — the samie process which, in different conditions, cubninated in Auschwitz.
It would be tragic if, at the moment we are remenibering the outbreak of the Second Worid War, with all the sacrifice it V entailed, we^were unable to resolve this issue in a spirit of mutual understanding and toleration.
Antony Polonsk^. Professor of International History London School of Economics President, Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies, Oxford
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