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FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1990
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STERLING HEIGHTS
Israelis Hunger
For Electoral Reform
ZE'EV CHAFETS
Israel Correspondent
T
his week in
Jerusalem, in a tat-
tered tent on the
hillside facing the Knesset,
three army reserve officers
began a hunger strike they
hope will end in a political
revolution. The officers — Lt.
Col. Avi Kadish, Major
Shahar Ben Meir and
Colonel David Mital — all
former combat veterans, are
demanding a change in
Israel's electoral system that
will lead to direct balloting
and make the country's
leaders personally accoun-
table to the people.
"We've had enough,"
Kadish told interviewers.
"The stink, if you'll pardon
the expression, has reached
our nostrils. It's impossible
to go on like this any
longer."
The immediate impetus for
the hunger protest was the
tepid reaction of mainstream
Israeli politicians to the na-
tionally televised speech of
Rabbi Eliezer Schach, head
of the Orthodox Degal
Hatorah Party. In that
speech Schach, whose
followers hold the balance of
power in the present polit-
ical negotiations, denounced
secular Jews in general and
kibbutz members in par-
ticular. Kadish and his col-
leagues were shocked by the
lack of protest by the senior
political leaders of both
major parties.
"We understood then that
their struggle is not ours.
Their struggle is simply the
struggle for political sur-
vival," Kadish said.
The Rabbi Schach speech
is only one in a number of
recent incidents that have
undermined the prestige of
Israeli politicians, and led to
calls for a change in the
system.
Senior officials of the Fi-
nance Ministry have pro-
tested decisions by ex-
Finance Minister Shimon
Peres to provide preferential
treatment to the Labor- con-
trolled Histadrut sick fund
at the taxpayers' expense,
and by Knesset members to
increase public funding for
party campaign debts. They
have also denounced the
willingness of both major
parties to allocate more than
$100 million dollars to Or-
thodox institutions.
"In order to bribe the re-
ligious parties, the politi-
cians have raped the
treasury and ruined the
budget," a senior Finance of-
ficial said privately.
There have also been pro-
tests about the undignified
way in which the major par-
ties have sought to establish
a ruling coalition. According
to press reports, Labor has
held discussions with five ex-
Likud Members of Knesset,
reportedly offering them
senior cabinet posts in
return for their support.
"You've lost the moral
basis of your support in the
country," Kadish told left-
wing Member of Knesset
Ran Cohen, who visited the
protesters' tent. "How can a
peace government be based
on defectors? How can you
steal peace? The ground is
shaking under you. You've
lost all direction, all sense of
proportion."
A newspaper poll
this week showed
that 72 percent of
Israelis favored
convening a
special Knesset
section leading to
electoral reform.
Kadish and his fellow
strikers believe that they
speak for a large silent
majority of Israelis, and they
hope to mobilize them in
support of their goal. In re-
cent days, hundreds of peo-
ple, including Jerusalem
mayor Teddy Kollek, have
visited their tent to express
solidarity.
"We feel that the people
are with us," said David
Mital. "This is a snowball
that is gathering force. The
truth is, we've started some-
thing and we can't turn back
now. I hope that this time,
something will change."
The officers' hunger strike
is not the only initiative
aimed at altering the elec-
toral system, which is blam-
ed by many for Israel's
chronic political stalemate.
The Israeli Bar Association
is actively campaigning for
legislation to introduce
direct election of the prime
minister. On the political
front, the mayors of Tel Aviv
and Herzliyah have called
for reform, and they are
scheduled to speak at a mass
rally in Tel Aviv's municipal
square on Saturday night.
President Chaim Herzog of
Israel has spoken out about