The latest contingent of Israelis intent on lobbying Congress and American Jewish leaders for and against government peace policies includes a maverick Labor member of Knesset who opposes withdrawal from the Golan Heights as part of any peace agreement with Syria.
Avigdor Kahalani’s 12-day visit to the United States, which began this week, prompted outrage among Labor Party members, who demanded that disciplinary action be taken against him.
Kahalani, a former Israel Defense Force general, was a highly decorated hero of the Yom Kippur War who led the counterattack that blocked the Syrians’ advance on the Golan Heights.
He now leads the movement against withdrawal from the Golan and chairs the Golan lobby in the Knesset. Prior to his departure for the United States, he said he intends to make the case against any withdrawal from the Golan Heights and is raising funds for The Third Way, a right-of-center movement that opposes some of the Israeli government’s peace and security policies.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin claimed earlier this week that Kahalani’s visit in being sponsored by the right wing in Israel. Rabin also said he is glad that Kahalani is not meeting with U.S. administration officials, and that Kahalani does not represent Labor Party or Israeli government positions.
Members of the Labor Knesset faction met with Rabin on Monday to discuss sanctions against Kahalani. Rabin refused to comment on the issue, but analysts suggested that Rabin was unlikely to discipline him because the prime minister, with such a slim majority in the Knesset, cannot afford complete alienation or possible defection by Kahalani.
Knesset member Nissim Zvilli, Labor Party secretary-general, said he considered Kahalani’s visit to be a grave move. He also said his party, which has condemned Likud Party members for their advocacy on Capitol Hill, can hardly overlook Kahalani’s tour.
Kahalani and four other Labor Knesset members were recently sanctioned by their party for their efforts to propose a private members’ bill to the Knesset. The bill demanded that any decision regarding a withdrawal from the Golan Heights require by law the support of 70 Knesset members, and in the case of a national referendum, at least 50 percent of all registered voters.
Despite the sanctions by the Knesset Labor Party faction, Kahalani said he still intends to find a way to file his private members’ bill.
During his U.S. tour, Kahalani is scheduled to meet with key congressional leaders, including Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), chairman of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, who has called negotiations with Syria “a fraud.” Kahalani is also scheduled to address the National Press Club and speak at West Point Military Academy.
Kahalani denied that his trip was being sponsored by right-wing groups.
“I am not meeting with the right,” he said. “My actions are meant to strengthen my own party.”
Kahalani also said that he does not intend to discuss the presence of U.S. troops on the Golan Heights as part of a peace agreement between Israel and Syria because, he said, he considers it irrelevant.
According to him, other troops, such as Swedish or Norwegian troops, could be stationed there.
Meanwhile, other Israeli reserve generals have scheduled visits to the United States in a concerted effort to persuade Congress and the leadership of the American Jewish community to support the extension of U.S. financial aid to the Palestinian Authority.
Ehud Barak, former IDF chief of staff, currently on a sabbatical in Washington, is scheduled to meet with the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations of Friday. He is reportedly hoping to persuade the group to support the continuation of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority, which is in Israel’s interests, he says.
Other former military commanders scheduled to join the peace debate in upcoming visits to Washington are Ori Orr, chairman of the prestigious Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee; Health Minister Ephraim Sneh, who headed the civil administration in the West Bank; and Shlomo Lahat, former Likud Party member and a former mayor of Tel Aviv.
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