By Gila Svirsky

Today is a very good day for peace in the Middle East: The re-election of Bibi Netanyahu as prime minister of Israel seems even more distant, now that he has fired the popular Itzhak Mordechai as his Defense Minister.

Mordechai will now join the so-called "centrist" party and strengthen the hand of others who have bolted from the Likud. And Netanyahu's reputation is growing as someone untrustworthy, undeserving of support. Look at how many have abandoned his cabinet within less than 3 years of office: 2 Finance Ministers (Dan Meridor and Ya'akov Ne'eman), 1 Foreign Minister (David Levy), 1 Science Minister known for his integrity (Benny Begin), and now the Minister of Defense (Mordechai).

Not everyone is willing to write Netanyahu off. He wields the power of his glibness, his arrogance, his hate-mongering of Arabs, and transforms them into a belief that he is invincible -- or else Israel will fall victim to Arab violence. But his reputation as a liar and double-dealer is growing, as more of his former associates are willing to say it out loud.

It will not be a smooth coast, but the road to peace is now open. The voices of moderation are now heard from both the "left" and the "center". By now, even the Likud is composed of many who will support a compromise peace agreement.

The public is sick of war and willing to compromise: 55% support an agreement with the Palestinians that will include withdrawal from the territories and recognition of a Palestinian state (39% oppose it and 6% "don't know") [Tel-Aviv University survey conducted by Ephraim Ya'ar and Tamar Hermann in December 1998].

So lay your bets on peace. And just to make sure, encourage all your Israeli friends and relatives to return to Israel for the vote on May 17th and the run-off two weeks later. In the first vote, they will have the pleasure of choosing between Netanyahu, Mordechai heading the moderate center, and Barak leading Labor. And in the run-off , they might even get to choose between the center and the left. And, if not, they had *better* be here to vote.

(Habad charters a plane for its right-wing Israeli supporters who live in New York. If you're an Israeli, why don't you think about figuring out how to get here? And for non-Israelis, think about sharing the cost of someone else's ticket.)

Yahoo's 1998 Israeli Election Page

Ariga's coverage of the 1996 Israeli elections

To the current election editorial from Ariga