There is a wide gap in the political views of former Foreign Minister Abba Eban and Defense Minister Shimon Peres. But the two men, each of whom hopes to replace Premier Yitzhak Rabin as head of the Labor Party, agree that major reforms in Israeli government and society are long overdue. Both are on the campaign trail to let the public know what changes could be expected should one or the other attain the Premiership after the May 17 elections.
Eban, a scholar and probably the most eloquent diplomat Israel has produced, has no illusions about his chances. He lacks a constituency within the Labor Party whereas both Rabin and Peres enjoy support from powerful factions within Labor. Most political analysts believe — and Eban probably concedes it — that the Party would turn to him for leadership only if Rabin and Peres became hopelessly deadlocked.
Yet Eban appears to enjoy the campaign dialogue. At a press conference at Sokolow House here yesterday he stressed not his doveish views on foreign policy but the reforms he would institute during his first year in office if elected Premier.
CHANGES SUGGESTED BY EBAN
He suggested that a member of the Cabinet should become the leader of the Knesset, a role now nominally held by the Speaker, so that the government and parliament could work more closely. He would introduce the Canadian system whereby Knesset members would twice monthly scrutinize the activities of Cabinet ministers. He would eliminate Minister-Without-Portfolio posts which he says adds nothing to the smooth functioning of government.
But he would appoint a minister for social distress who would be in charge of relieving hardships in various sectors of Israeli society. Eban also proposed a ministry of immigration and absorption that would take over both those functions from the Jewish Agency.
Eban is especially interested in the problems of Israel’s relations with world Jewry. He said he would want a special Knesset committee set up to maintain constant contact with overseas Jews. Asked if he would support either Rabin or Peres for the Premiership. Eban would say only that there must be a change because the present situation cannot continue.
PERES VIEWS THE FUTURE
Peres has also taken to the hustings. He is speaking and answering questions all over the country. He recently spent several hours with student groups discussing his own plans for internal reform. He said he would eliminate or reshuffle at least six ministers — he did not name them — and declared that he wanted at least one woman in the Cabinet, a statement that drew applause from the women students. He also said that a Peres Cabinet would include a representative of the new immigrant townships and that he would have a ministerial post for Eban.
Peres insisted that a Labor team under his leadership would garner more votes than one led by Rabin. On the sensitive issue of the Gush Emunim whose illegal settlement attempts he has appeared to support, Peres said there could be no generalization.
He said there are responsible elements who have settled on the Golan Heights. But there are those like the militant Rabbi Moshe Levinger, leader of the Kiryat Arba township near Hebron, who he does not accept. Peres said he supported Jewish settlements on the western slopes of Samaria and Judaea but did not favor them in the Jordan Valley.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
