ISRAEL

State of Disunion?

There is an uncertain future ahead for the Shamir government.

AMY J. MEHLER and NOAM M.M. NEUSNER
Members of the 12th Knesset

Loss Of
Confidence

Party: Likud
Leader: Yitzhak Shamir
Seats: 40
Party: Labor
Leader: Shimon Peres
Seats: 39
Party: Shas
Leader: Yitzhak Peretz
Seats: 6

The Jan. 19 resignations of
Yuval Neeman of the Tehiya
Zionist Revival Movement
and Rehavam Zeevi of the
Moledet (Homeland) Party set
the stage for early elections
in Israel, likely scheduled for
June.
The resignations, which
bring Yitzhak Shamir's
government to the brink of
being turned out of office by
a no-confidence vote for the
second time in less than two
years, stem from Israel's offer
last week to discuss autono-
my with Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The no-confidence motion
was raised by the Labor par-
ty because of dramatic ills in
the Israeli economy.
Mr. Shamir, left with 59
backers in the 120-member
parliament, has a number of
options: Try to lead with a
minority government, form a
new majority, participate in
elections or let the opposing
Labor Party try to form a new
coalition government.

Party: Agudat Yisrael
Leader: Moshe Feldman
Seats: 5
Party: Citizens Rights
Movement
Leader: Shulamit Moth
Seats: 5
Party: National
Religious Party
Leader: Avner Shaki
Seats: 5
Party: Communists
Leader: Tawfik Toubi
Seats: 4
Party: Tehiya
Leader: Yuval Neeman
Seats: 3

The Soviet Factor

❑

The Candidates

Yitzhak Shamir, 76, leader
of right-wing Likud, prime
minister since 1986.

Shimon
Peres, 68,

former
prime min-
ister and
head of the
center-left
Labor Par-
ty. He was
prime min-
ister from
1984-86, and has been minis-
ter of defense, foreign affairs
and finance.

Yitzhak
Rabin, 69,

former
prime min-
ister from
1 9 7 4 - 7 7 ,
leader of
Labor's
hawkish
wing. He is
challenging
Peres for
party leadership. He was
forced out as prime minister
in 1977 amid a scandal over
his wife's illegal foreign bank
account. ❑

Party: Mapam
Leader: Yair Tsaban
Seats: 3
Party: Tsomet
Leader: Rafael Eitan
Seats: 2
Party: Moledet
Leader: Rehavam Ze'evi
Seats: 2
Party: Center Shinui
movement
Leader: Amnon
Rubinstein
Seats: 2
Party: Degel HaTorah
Leader: Avraham Ravitz
Seats: 2
Party: Progressive List
for Peace
Leader: Mohammed
Miari
Seats: 1
Party: Arab Democratic
Party
Leader: Abd-el Wahab
Darousha
Seats: 1

How A New Government Is Formed,
Israeli Style

Israel's parliament, the
Knesset, consists of 120
members, each elected to
four-year terms. Members
are elected proportionately.
Each party submits its list
of candidates to voters, and
candidates are elected
depending on how many
votes the entire party gets.
Israel's government is
formed by compiling a ma-
jority, or a coalition, of
Knesset members. Coali-
tions form when a political
party is asked by Israel's
president to assemble a ma-
jority of Knesset members.

Party leaders seek coalition
partners among like-
minded, but smaller parties.
Usually, parties join coali-
tions on condition that some
of its policies are carried out
by the government.
Sometimes, the smaller
parties request that their
members hold certain
leadership positions in a
new government cabinet. If
successful in attracting
more than 60 members, the
prime minister-elect sub-
mits a list of cabinet officials
to the Knesset for a vote of
confidence.

❑

Immigrants are expected to
constitute a large floating
vote, which means that in an
election, their votes could
swing in many directions.
Israel's political parties, both
right and left, have wasted no
time in wooing the new olim.
According to the Jerusalem
Polls Institute, 36 percent of
immigrants from the former
U.S.S.R. are undecided about
which political party to sup-
port. About 25 percent said
they would vote for the left
and slightly more than a
third expressed loyalty to the
right. Only 1 percent said
they would vote for the
religious parties.
Some analysts believe im-
migrant voting patterns will
not be determined by the
Israeli-Palestinian issue. If
immigrants have found jobs
and housing, they will vote for
the Likud-led government. If
not, they will vote for the op-
position Labor Party. ❑

Sources: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, WZ.O./Jewish
Agency For Israel, Soviet Jewry Research Bureau,
Midwest Israel Consul Midwest.

Population of Israel: 5,022,700
Jewish population as of October:
4,120,300
Total Soviet aliyah since 1989: 343,930
Percentage increase in Jewish
population since 1990: 6.5%

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

31