Battle of the Generals

Not all of Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan's famous victories have been won on the desert sands. Last week he scored a notable triumph in a meeting of the Secretariat, the governing body of Israel's ruling Labor Party. By a vote of 78-0, the members approved a Dayan-originated plan--long and bitterly opposed by such doves as Foreign Minister Abba Eban and Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir--for Israeli economic penetration into the occupied Arab territories. The Secretariat vote enormously enhanced Dayan's position within the Labor Party and quite possibly established him as the man most likely to succeed Golda Meir as Premier.

The fate of the plan--which calls for the Israeli treasury to put up $287 million for new development projects in the occupied territories, including Sinai and the Gaza--was never really in doubt. Sapir left before the vote, asking --in an admission of defeat--to have his recorded in the affirmative. In all, 83 members of the 161-member Secretariat were absent; some presumably felt that the result of the vote was assured, but others felt nervous about expressing their opposition.

Comrade Messiah? As it was, the only negative sentiment was voiced by former Party Secretary-General Arieh Eliav. "This program is brought before us with the lashing of the whip of time and the scourge of haste and panic!" he shouted. "There are many in this land whose souls weep in silence because of this document. I will be the voice of the ideological Jewry of silence and never, at no price and in no forum, will I ever vote for this document." Sneered Golda Meir: "I have lived through 50 years of political activity and never before have we had a comrade who set himself up as a messiah." Taken aback, Eliav announced that he would not vote at all.

Enactment of the development plan --which makes it appear less and less likely that Israel will ever voluntarily surrender any part of the occupied territories--has profound international implications. In fact, the Secretariat vote was not inspired by any spirit of nose-thumbing defiance toward the U.N. or the Arab world, but by Labor Party fears about the outcome of next month's general election. Although Labor has ruled throughout Israel's 25-year history, it has never commanded an absolute majority in the 120-member Knesset (Parliament). The charismatic Dayan, who is somewhat more popular with the electorate at large than he is with other leaders of the Labor Party, had threatened, in effect, to sulk in his tent through the election if the plan was not adopted. If Dayan were to defect from Labor or even withdraw from the campaign in silence, the party would stand to lose eight to ten seats and might even be toppled from power.

Even though Dayan and his allies have apparently been placated, Labor faces strong opposition from a brand-new and imposing middle-of-the-road coalition. After a month of fitful negotiations, four center and right-of-center parties agreed to form a National Liberal Union. Two of its components, the Herut and Liberal parties, have cooperated since 1965 under the name Gahal, and control 26 Knesset seats. Now they have recruited the State List and Free Center parties, raising the bloc's total to 32 seats. Whether by coincidence or not, the impetus to form the Union came from another military hero, retired General Ariel Sharon, and the Union became a reality only in response to popular pressure. When negotiations were foundering, polls showed that the Israeli public was spoiling for a head-bumping political battle between well-matched opponents.

Now they may get it, with Sharon, a Pattonesque figure, taking the Union leadership spotlight. And beside him is yet another former general, Shlomo Lahat, who is campaigning in folksy American style for the mayoralty of Tel Aviv and is given a fair chance of winning. With Dayan now firmly back in the Labor Party fold, the campaign could well boil down to a rhetorical battle of the generals.

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