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Analysis

Zionist Union candidate Eytan Schwartz interviewed by Richard Pater

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BICOM Israel Office Director Richard Pater interviewed Eytan Shwartz, candidate for the Zionist Union. Eytan’s journey into politics has taken him to the Tel Aviv municipality, where he has served as a senior advisor to the mayor for the last few years. He has also led the campaign for the advancement of refugees from Darfur, and he now leads the English language campaign for the Zionist Union. Listen to the podcast here.

The Zionist Union is a relatively new creation, making its debut on the political scene. What does the party stand for?

It is a combination of two parties. One is the Labour party of the centre-left of Israel, a very veteran party that established the State and led it for its first 40 years. When we speak about leaders like David Ben Gurion and Golda Meir, up until Yitzchak Rabin and Shimon Peres, they all come from Labour. Then we have Hatnua led by Tzipi Livni, which is a more centrist party that focused has on the peace process and the issues with the Palestinians. Both parties combined to run as one list, the Zionist Union, about three months ago, and ever since the creation of this new party, it has been leading in the polls. This party has managed to capture the centre of the Israeli electorate, offer a real alternative to Netanyahu, and suggest a new vision to lead this country after six years of a right-wing government.

What have been the main messages in your campaign, including those towards the English speaking electorate?

The Anglo audience, in many ways, is concerned with everything else that happens among the Israeli electorate, as well as having some unique concerns. The main messages of the party have to do with the economy and to do with diplomacy or the negotiations with the Palestinians.

Regarding the latter, we support a two-state solution. We believe that a two-state solution is something we should strive for as quickly as possible. Regarding the economy, we believe in a market economy with more compassion than the current government. The Labour movement, coming from a more social democratic background, seeks a more compassionate economy when it comes to welfare, education, culture, infrastructure, and public transportation systems. These should more focused on creating a safety net for the citizens of Israel, with the issue of the cost of living being one of the most important issues in the current election – mainly the cost of housing, which has become real national crisis.

These two issues together resonate very well with a lot of our Anglo voters, many of whom gave up the luxury of living in the Western world to build a just society, and therefore they see the economic gaps between the rich and poor in this country as unacceptable and something that they want to change. They also have their own concerns. Israel today is enjoying an unprecedented and wonderful wave of immigration from Western countries. A lot of them are Anglos, a lot are French speakers. These people come here after completing higher education in some of the world’s best universities, left wonderful jobs in some of the world’s most important urban centres, and they pose new challenge to the Israeli economy because they are so successful. While we are a country of immigrants, most of our immigration over the past few decades has come from the former Soviet Union, which is a completely different demographic. These people have new concerns, new challenges in the job market, and these are some issues we have also tackled in our platform, hoping that when we are in government we will aid this group of immigrants and integrate them quicker into Israeli society.

Back onto the diplomatic issue, you mentioned a quick solution. Some of your opponents are concerned that you will cave to international pressure, and will sell Israel out to an easy deal with the Palestinians. How would you respond to that?

I think it is clear to everyone that both sides have not gone to the full extent that they could have over the past decade in reaching some kind of agreement. We definitely do not solely blame the Israeli leadership for the current situation. Herzog has made a clear point in his campaign that he is committed to a two-state solution, but at the same time he does not know what type of mood he will meet on the Palestinian side once he is prime minister. If he finds a leadership that is unwilling to make compromises on their side, then obviously peace should be achieved, but not at any price.

We are thinking of a more comprehensive solution. We think that there is a historic moment right now, to bring to the table not only the Palestinians, but also the moderate Arab states that share a lot of our interests in regional politics. So, we think there is a moment here that should be seized, there are trust making moves that should be made, and we should strive for a peace. Even if that is unachievable in the near future, we should nevertheless try to improve relations between ourselves and the Palestinians.

Some have said that the list is too left-wing. How do you hope to attract voters from the centre and even peel people away from the soft-right bloc?

We see that happening in large numbers over the last few weeks. The combination of both parties: Herzog being from a social democratic party; and Livni, whose roots are deep in the Israeli centrist right, whose parents were members of the Likud party, and who herself started her career in the Likud party and made her way towards the centre. I think these two people represent a synthesis, which appeals to many  Israelis and gives them confidence that this is a very centrist, rational, and middle of the road approach when it comes to solving the fundamental problems of Israel.

You mentioned your party leader, Isaac Herzog, who has been scrutinized very closely in the Israeli media in the last few days and weeks. Does he have what it takes to be the prime minister? How does he measure up?

Absolutely. Actually about two hours ago, the former president of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres, issued a statement in support of Isaac Herzog, mentioning his leadership abilities and his knowledgeable way of dealing with things. Herzog was minister in several cabinets, he was part of our security cabinet for seven years, he comes very seasoned in Israeli politics and in implementing and drafting policy. He is a very popular person among wide audiences in Israel, so I think in that sense he offers a new type of leadership in Israel, and this is something I think the Israeli electorate is willing to accept.

Let’s assume you are successful on March 17, and you are asked to form the government. How do you do that? What would the coalition look like?

The Israeli political system and current climate forces any prime minister to form a very broad coalition with at least five parties. That is the case no matter who is elected prime minister. I think, with the exception of one or two parties, coming from the extreme right of Israeli politics, who declared that they would not sit with us in the same coalition, we are willing to sit with whichever party is willing to accept our platform. We do not disqualify anyone. There are policies that some parties believe in that we cannot accept, but if we have the steering wheel in our hands, we will determine the basic values of the upcoming government and whoever is willing to join is welcome.

But, for example, you may need to square the circle to include both the Yesh Atid party and the Haredim who refuse to sit with each other. For the numbers to add up, you may need them both in your potential coalition. How do you see that playing out?

That’s going to be one of the challenges that await and we do need both sides to join us, and as I said that is true for any prime minister. I think what Isaac Herzog has managed to do very well throughout his political career is make different sides work together and bring compromise by allowing different people to maintain their core values while at the same time partnering with others.

I think all of the leaders of the different political movements in Israel realize that this is a time of coming together. The Israeli electorate is very fragmented, and everybody realizes that our system put us in a certain gridlock, and unless people are willing to compromise on some issues, our political system will not be able to function.

Is a national unity government with the Likud an option?

I don’t want to refer to scenarios that are not currently on the table. We are working very hard to make Isaac Herzog prime minister on March 17, and the way the polls are right now, it seems we will be able to form a very stable government with us in the lead.

If we can speculate that you are able to form a government, what would you say, in the first hundred days, would be the policy priorities?

Herzog is talking about three priorities. One is he will form and chair a housing cabinet, so that creating a large variety of affordable housing options will be delivered as efficiently and quickly as possible. Number two will be to restore our relations with our largest ally, the United States. And, number three: call on Mahmoud Abbas to try to reignite the process with the Palestinians. Those are the three priorities.