Sharansky Pushed for Post of Israeli Envoy to U.N.

Natan Sharansky, a symbol of human rights and political dissidence in the Soviet Union before emigrating to Israel, is a leading candidate to be Israel’s next ambassador to the United Nations, government officials said Tuesday.

But, with perhaps some irony, the main holdup in naming him is fear that the move would offend the Soviet Union, with which Israel is trying to improve relations, according to sources in the office of Prime Minister Yizhak Shamir.

The choice of Sharansky is being promoted by Foreign Minister Moshe Arens and Binyamin Netanyahu, the former U.N. envoy who is now Arens’ deputy. They believe he would make a good impression on the world stage and signify a commitment by Israel to human rights at a time when the country is under attack for its handling of the Arab uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

But concerns over the Soviet reaction have made Shamir think twice, the sources in the prime minister’s office said. Shamir’s spokesman, Avi Pazner, would say only that Sharansky is a leading candidate, because “he presents a good image,” but that the decision is still some weeks off.

The other contenders for the post are career diplomats.

Sharansky’s nomination is opposed by Finance Minister Shimon Peres, a former foreign minister, because of the chances that it would provoke Moscow. Peres, as head of the Labor Party, a junior partner in the governing coalition led by Shamir, has veto power over the nomination.

“It is difficult for Peres to stand alone in opposing Sharansky because Sharansky is a hero,” said a source in the Foreign Ministry. “In the end, it will probably depend on Shamir.”

Broke Relations in 1967

The Soviet Union broke relations with Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. Contacts between Jerusalem and Moscow have warmed during the past two years. The countries have exchanged consular officers, and recently, the Soviets permitted Israeli consular officials to move into Israel’s abandoned embassy in Moscow.

Several Eastern Bloc officials have visited Israel and expressed interest in opening full relations during the past few months.

According to a government radio broadcast, Sharansky, 41, refused to comment publicly on his possible appointment. His nomination, if made, must be formally approved by the Israeli Cabinet.

Sharansky came to Israel in 1986 after having spent nine years in Soviet prisons and labor camps on charges of spying for the United States. A mathematician, Sharansky had campaigned for free emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union and belonged to a human rights committee headed by dissident physicist Andrei D. Sakharov.

Upon arriving in Israel, he changed his name from the Russian Anatoly to the Hebrew Natan. In Israel, he has continued to work to ease the free exit of Jews from the Soviet Union. There was public speculation here that if appointed, he might use the U.N. post both to keep pressure on Moscow and to encourage Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel instead of to the United States, where most prefer to go.