I INSIGHT I
Mystery Man
Continued from preceding page
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mittee, and an ever more in-
fluential role in party af-
fairs.
In 1983, when Begin
stepped down, Levy
challenged Yitzhak Shamir
for the prime minister's of-
fice, and narrowly lost. That
contest marked the first
time that a non-Ashkenazi
politician was seriously con-
sidered for national leader-
ship, and it established Levy
as a major political figure.
It also signalled the end of
the Eastern European heg-
emony in Israeli politics. In
the current government, a
record eight cabinet min-
isters are of Sephardic
origin.
Levy hopes to use the for-
eign ministry to transcend
the "ethnic politician"
stereotype, and broaden his
appeal. To do so, he will have
to make a creditable show-
ing at a time when Israel's
relations with the Bush ad-
ministration are strained.
Levy will need to find ways
of patching up that relation-
ship without endangering
his hawkish party support
by appearing to be soft on
the key Palestinian issue.
In the past, Levy has
followed a conventionally
hardline policy on this issue.
Earlier this year, for exam-
ple, he joined Ariel Sharon
in forcing Shamir to stiffen
the Israeli plan for Palestin-
ian autonomy, helping to
derail the initiative. And, as
housing minister, he was a
strong advocate of Jewish
settlement in the West Bank
and Gaza. At the same time,
Levy has shown himself
capable of taking indepen-
dent, sometimes surprising-
ly moderate positions.
He bucked his party's
leadership to vote with
Labor on withdrawing
Israeli forces from Lebanon,
and he took a soft line in
negotiations with Egypt
over the fate of Taba, a tiny,
disputed slice of territory
near Eilat. These deviations
from party orthodoxy have
given rise to speculation
that Levy is a closet
moderate, whose hardline
views on the Palestinian
issue were more a matter of
political tactics than ideol-
ogy.
Levy's unpredictability is
matched by a capacity for
growth rare in senior politi-
cians. Even opponents con-
cede that he does his
homework, comes well
prepared and isn't in-
timidated by the opinions of
experts.
"Levy always asks the
right questions, and he
makes sure he understands
the answers," says a general
who has dealt with him in
previous governments.
"He's a learner."
This ability will stand the
new foreign minister in good
stead in the coming months;
for one thing, he will have to
master English, a language
he barely speaks. He has
vowed to learn, but until he
does, he has asked
Benyamin Netanyahu to
remain on board as deputy
foreign minister, and to
serve as Israel's spokesman
in the international media.
Still, despite his limited
linguistic ability, Levy
leaves no doubt about who
will be the boss. "Some peo-
ple who speak English don't
always understand what
they hear," he recently
remarked.
Even if he learns English,
Levy may have to struggle to
use it. Prime Minister
Shamir wants to maintain
personal control of the
critical U.S. relationship,
leaving the foreign minister
to deal with Europe and
other lesser matters.
Last week, the two men
reportedly quarreled over
this matter. Their dis-
agreement was interrupted
when Levy was hospitalized
with a mild heart attack, but
it will undoubtedly surface
once more when he returns
to work, probably sometime
in the next few days.
American diplomats here
are hopeful that Levy will
succeed. Shamir is perceived
as intractable and difficult
to deal with, while the new
foreign minister is seen as a
potentially more flexible
figure.
For this reason, they are
anxious for him to visit the
U.S. soon, and to explore the
possibility of establishing a
Washington-Beit Shean
connection that will circum-
vent the hardliners and help
move Israel in the direc-
tion of peace talks with the
Palestinians. ❑
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