Mapam Resolutions Seen As Potential Source of Friction with Its Labor Alignment Partner

The Central Council of Mapam has ended a two-day conference here with the adoption of a number of resolutions which go far beyond the principles laid down in the Labor Alignment platform. They represent a potential source of friction between itself and its partner in the Alignment, the Labor Party.

The resolutions include support for “a Jordanian-Palestine State” to the east of Israel comprising the West Bank and Jordan, most of whose residents are Palestinian, anyway.

The Council also approved a resolution calling for the mutual, simultaneous recognition between Israel and the PLO — a proposal which went far beyond the previous proposal by Meir Yariv and Victor Shemtov which suggested recognition of the PLO if it abandoned and amended its anti-Israel national charter.

Shemtov explained that Mapam had advanced from the earlier position “because we want to find ways to facilitate mutual recognition and bring the two sides to negotiations. This is why we have, for the first time, adopted this new resolution.”

Another resolution which can cause difficulties with the Labor Party is a call for an immediate freeze on all West Bank settlement activity. This goes beyond Labor Party policy which, while opposed to the Likud’s widespread settlement policy, does not bar settlement completely.

Labor forums have so far defeated all attempts to pass resolutions calling for a settlement freeze. The Labor-dominated Histadrut recently overruled proposals to halt Solel Boneh and other Histadrut-affiliated construction work on the West Bank, for fear of the unemployment which might result in Histadrut-owned enterprises if private contractors took over the construction work.