Ire of Aides and Orthodox Deepens Barak’s Woes

Even as he vowed to pursue a “secular revolution” in Israel’s legal and education systems, Prime Minister Ehud Barak appeared more politically isolated than ever Monday, with his popularity sagging and his style of governance under public attack from his closest aides.

Barak has been ruling in a minority government since July, when several coalition partners defected over his efforts to make peace with the Palestinians. The latest blow came Monday, when Haim Mendel-Shaked, the head of the prime minister’s office, quit after telling a newspaper interviewer that Barak “has stopped functioning as prime minister and has become his own bureau chief.”

Mendel-Shaked’s defection came just two days after Barak stunned the political system by announcing that he will try to win passage of a constitution when the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, reconvenes in October. Bedeviled by such issues as what role Judaism should play in a democratic state and what the status of Arab citizens should be, Israeli lawmakers have never been able to pass a constitution.

Barak also promised that he will introduce laws to improve women’s rights, legalize civil marriages, abolish the Ministry of Religious Affairs and end military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli Arabs.

His agenda of secular reforms met with lukewarm support from some of the leaders of his One Israel Party and was treated as a declaration of war by religious parties. Eli Yishai, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, which quit Barak’s government when the prime minister went to the Camp David peace summit in July, called Barak’s latest initiative “a call to divide the nation, and for a cultural war.”

Analysts struggled to explain Barak’s new commitment to a domestic political agenda. Some viewed it as proof that the prime minister has abandoned hope of concluding a comprehensive peace treaty with the Palestinians. Others saw it as a tactical maneuver, meant to scare Shas into rejoining the government and spur Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat into signing a peace agreement.

Even some Barak supporters said the prime minister’s move was cynical because he knows he does not have the votes in parliament.

“This was such a blatant political move,” said Charles Liebman, professor of political science at Bar Ilan University. “I think it is Barak gearing up for early elections.”

Barak’s core supporters in the last elections were secular Israelis who are tired of the influence the ultra-Orthodox have over the nation’s politics and the daily lives of non-observant Jews, who must get married, be divorced and be buried according to Orthodox practices. Those supporters urged Barak not to take Shas into his coalition and began to register their dissatisfaction with the prime minister in public opinion polls as Shas gained concessions from him before quitting the government.

Accusations that Barak unveiled the proposals without first preparing the political ground came as his second aide in three days quit after publicly attacking the prime minister.

Mendel-Shaked, who served with Barak in the Israeli army’s elite Sayeret Matkal unit, was a confidant of the prime minister for 15 years. He quit just three days after the deputy chief of the prime minister’s office, another longtime Barak confidant, resigned and similarly blasted Barak in print.

The opposition Likud and National Religious parties called on Barak to resign and hold new elections, just 13 months after he rode into office promising to conclude peace treaties with the Palestinians and Syrians and pull Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon.

Barak made good in May on his promise to bring the troops home, but he has been frustrated in his peacemaking efforts. Some within his party had been urging the premier for months to turn his attention to an internal social and political agenda, but party doves on Monday fretted that Barak now is abandoning his peace efforts.

“One can understand from your plan that you are pessimistic about the chances of reaching peace,” Regional Cooperation Minister Shimon Peres told the newspaper Yediot Aharanot in remarks addressed hypothetically to Barak.

A survey by respected pollster Mina Tzemah released Saturday raised doubts that Barak could survive politically, even if he secured a peace agreement with the Palestinians. In a telephone poll of 500 voters, Tzemah asked whom voters would prefer as prime minister if Barak signed a peace pact and went to elections against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is trying to wrest control of Likud back from Ariel Sharon. Netanyahu received 48% support, while Barak received 44%. The remaining 8% were undecided.

U.S. envoy Dennis B. Ross is in the Middle East assessing the chances of closing gaps between the Israelis and the Palestinians over such issues as Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees who fled Israel or were forced out when the state was declared in 1948. Ross’ consultations have been occurring parallel to a flurry of secret meetings between Israelis and Palestinians, and diplomatic efforts by Egypt and Jordan to bridge the gaps between the sides.

Publicly, both the Palestinians and the Israelis continue to accuse each other of inflexibility and have been pessimistic about the chances for concluding a treaty before the Knesset returns from its summer vacation. Barak is not expected to survive a vote of no-confidence in his government once the parliament reconvenes.

As Barak’s political fortunes wane, tensions continue to mount between Israel and the Palestinians. In Jerusalem on Monday, Palestinians clashed with Israeli border police after the Palestinians marched to the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City to commemorate an arson attack on the structure 31 years ago.

On Saturday, dozens of Palestinians and Jewish settlers clashed in the West Bank city of Hebron after a Palestinian taxi driver hit and slightly injured a Jewish boy. Israeli police said seven Palestinians and three settlers were arrested.