INSIGHT
Soviet Jews
Continued from preceding page
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38
FRIDAY, MAY 11, 1990
defect to the Likud.
Both Labor and the Likud
are looking hard for other
promising Soviet politicians.
These will undoubtedly
come from among the
170,000 immigrants who
arrived in the 1970s, and are
now familiar with Israeli
life. Thus far, the most
prominent former Prisoners
of Zion, such as Natan
Sharansky and Ida Nudel,
have eschewed partisan af-
filiation, but the parties are
actively attempting to
recruit superstars for future
campaigns.
At a recent meeting of
Georgian immigrants, a
Likud activist watched long-
ingly as Sharansky address-
ed the gathering. "Someday
he could be prime minister,"
said the Likudnik. "Too bad
he doesn't want to join a par-
ty."
The battle for the hearts
and votes of the Soviets is
not unique, of course.
Throughout Israeli history,
political parties have sought
to recruit electoral support
from among olim.
But there is something
almost surrealistic in the
present competition. As re-
cently as last June, the offi-
cial estimate here was that
18,000 immigrants would
arrive' n- 1989; now, it is
believed that more than that
could arrive in each of the
next few months.
Unprepared for the mas-
sive wave, Israeli politi-
cians, already discredited by
their unseemly coalition
battles, seem blissfully un-
concerned with anything
more pressing than their
own welfare. It is an index of
the poverty of the current
political culture that the
country's leaders are ap-
parently determined to
transform a historic moment
into simply another partisan
tug-of-war. ❑
Israeli Army Chief
Reprimands General
Tel Aviv (JTA) — An Israel
Defense Force general who
publicly criticized the army
for not being sufficiently
tough in fighting the in-
tifada has been reprimanded
by the IDF chief of staff,
Gen. Dan Shomron.
Maj. Gen. Moshe Bar-
Kochba, whose sharp
remarks were published last
week in an interview with
the newspaper Hadashot,
was summoned by Shomron,
who reminded him that his
right to criticize the IDF was
limited to closed meetings of
the army's high command.
Bar-Kochba, nicknamed
"Brill," criticized the IDF
for failing to learn the
lessons of the Lebanon war,
and said the army was not
doing a proper job of sup-
pressing the Palestinian
uprising.
Bar-Kochba reportedly
asked the chief of staff for
permission to state his
charges directly to acting
Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir, who is also acting
defense minister.
Ma'ariv reported that the
general had, in fact, received
permission some months ago
to air his complaints to the
then-defense minister, Yit-
zhak Rabin.
But he never asked for an
appointment, the newspaper
said.
Bar-Kochba, a longtime
supporter of Shamir's Likud
bloc, is known to have been
piqued when Shomron was
promoted to chief of staff two
years ago, instead of him.
He claims he could have
ended the intifada long ago
if the tough measures he
calls for had been taken.
They include a massive IDF
presence in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, deploying
tanks and other heavy
equipment in Arab towns
and throughout the coun-
tryside.
Bar-Kochba's ideas are
well known at General
Headquarters and have been
rejected by virtually every
senior commander.
Mossad's Cohen
May Get Award
Tel Aviv (JTA) — Elie
Cohen, a Mossad agent ex-
ecuted in Damascus in 1965,
may become the first Israeli
to be posthumously awarded
honorary military rank.
Acting Defense Minister
Yitzhak Shamir and Chief of
Staff Gen. Dan Shomron will
decide whether to approve
the recommendation of a
special Israel Defense Force
committee.
It would make Cohen an
honorary lieutenant colonel
in the IDF, in recognition of
his "exceptional contribu-
tion to Israel."
The IDF was first ap-
proached on the matter by
the Institute for Intelligence
and Special Posts, acting on
behalf of Cohen's widow.