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By A Razor's Edge

ERIC SILVER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

erusalem — Likud leader
Binyamin Netanyahu de-
scended on party head-
quarters at 1 a.m. Thursday
and urged his followers not to lose
heart. "The hour is still early," he
thundered. "We must display pa-
tience. Don't lose hope. Keep cool."
At that point, in Labor headquar-
ters there was a note of muted tri-
umph. "This is a big enough margin
for me," said Yossi Beilin, one of Mr.
Peres's closest aides.

41

Early television exit polls had giv-
en Labor incumbent Shimon Peres
the thinnest of margins over his
Likud challenger — 50.6 per cent to
49.4. The elections were seen as a ref-
erendum on the peace process, which
Mr. Peres had personally engineered.
Mr. Peres, who had previously lost
four elections, chose to stay holed up
in his North Tel-Aviv flat, not risking
a premature celebration.
His challenger, Mr. Netanyahu
would lead jubilant cheers several
hours later. As of press time — de-
spite some 140,000 votes to be count-
ed by Friday afternoon — the
right-wing candidate appeared head-
ed for a razor's edge victory in Israel's
national elections.
Despite that, Labor campaign co-
ordinator Binyamin Eliezer said that
he held out hope for the votes left to
be counted by week's end — the bulk
from young soldiers.

Eric Silver is a senior writer for the
Jerusalem RPnort.

undisputed winners were the middle-
sized parties. Their supporters rev-
elled in the first-time option of voting
once for Prime Minister and then for
a, perhaps, more congenial party.
Natan Sharansky's new Russian
immigrants' party won seven seats,
according to mid-day Thursday Israel
television polls. Now assured of a cab-
inet spot, he has promised to fight for
immigrant rights and to make it a na-
tional priority to have 1 million more
ex-Soviet Jews clamor to come here.
Another newcomer,
the Third Way, took
three seats. The break-
away Labor party wants
to keep negotiating, but
not give up the Golan
Heights or too much of
the West Bank.
The big two, Labor
and Likud, were the net
losers. They paid the
price of concentrating al-
most exclusively on the
prime minister race. La-
bor dropped from 44
seats to 35; Likud, joined
in a late marriage of con-
venience by coalition
partners Tsomet and
Gesher, slipped from 40
to 31.
But Mr. Netanyahu
had natural coalition par-
ties waiting. Shas (the
Orthodox Sephardi par-
ty) and the National Re-
ligious Party (the
staunchly pro-settlement
modem
Orthodox group)
After
months
of
Mr. Peres promised to see the
final-status negotiations to the debate, Israeli voters each went from six seats
had their say. to nine (maybe 10 for
end, on the principle of terri-
Shas). Another Orthodox
tory for peace, and to continue
party,
United
Torah Judaism, came
the freeze on West Bank settlement.
But Mr. Netanyahu, who project- in with four seats.
Shas and UTJ rabbis had endorsed
ed himself as the prophet of "a secure
peace," made it clear that the most Mr. Netanyahu's candidacy and the
the Palestinians could expect from faithful turned out overwhelmingly
him would be a permanent limited for him.
That gave Mr. Netanyahu, includ-
self-rule. And he pledged to expand
settlements and rescind the evacua- ing Mr. Sharansky and the Third
tion of the predominantly Arab town Way (which would go with either can-
didate), a comfortable coalition of 64
of Hebron.
The hard-line Ariel Sharon, the vir- spots in the 120-seat parliament.
On the left, Meretz (the civil rights
tuoso matchmaker in Netanyahu's
block)
and the Arab parties also did
electoral alliances, will likely be re-
warded with a senior role in a Ne- well. Meretz came in with 10 seats, a
tanyahu team. His track record decline of two, but four more than pre-
ensures that Mr. Netanyahu won't dicted.
In the unlikely prospect of a last
backtrack on tough pledges.
The question barely broached was minute Peres victory, he, too, could
whether Yassir Arafat would acqui- form a coalition — with Sharansky,
esce in such limited prospects. And if Third Way and Meretz — of 55. Shas
and the Arab parties would likely sup-
he did, whether he could keep the lid
port that block for an astounding to-
on the simmering Palestinian street.
Remaining ballots aside, the tal of 74.

"The 140,000 will surprise us in
great number because of the Rabin
murder," he said. After Yitzhak Ra-
bin's assassination in November,
young Israelis flocked to the streets
and vowed to press forward with the
slain leader's visions.
Despite the efforts of both prime
ministerial candidates to blur differ-
ences, the final result is critical for
the peace process.
Labor had dropped its opposition
to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Surfing For
Results

PHOTO BY DAN IEL LIPPITT

Shocking results from a divided nation.

In Bloomfield Hills, the faithful scanned
the TV screens and the Internet for early
returns and history.

PHIL JACOBS EDITOR

ednesday was a difficult day for Gadi Ra-
viv. The Habonim D'ror shaliach (emis-
sary) for Detroit was watching results of
the Israeli election come over a Jewish
Federation conference room television. Inside the
room could be heard quiet discussions among 20 per-
sons who gathered to watch. Some wrote down the
early returns on pieces of scrap pa-
per trying to figure who would be deft Kaye surfs the
in charge, what parties would gain Internet for election
results.
dominance.
Outside, rush hour traffic began
to back up along Telegraph Road. Banners pro- .
claiming "We Want Stanley" waved from car an-
tennas and nearby stores.
It clearly wasn't the same memory Mr. Raviv had
of elections in Israel.
"It's frustrating," said Mr. Raviv. "I'd rather be
there and be part of the whole thing. The distance
takes away from the significance of the event. In Is-
rael, the election day is so powerful and so over-
whelming. You have a unique sense of being part of
history in the making."
Jeff Kaye, the Detroit Federation's community
shaliach, watched the election results both on tele-
vision and via the Internet. The first Israeli election
he participated in was in 1985 when Yitzhak Shamir
and Shimon Peres formed a unity government. Mr.
Kaye didn't think Wednesday's election was "dooms-
day" for either side, as the experts were predict-
ing.
"You have two different sides with different vari-
ations of the same theme, that being peace," he said.
"I think the most significant part of this election hap-
pened some time ago when Benjamin Netanyahu
adapted in his platform that he'd negotiate for peace
with the Palestinians. The revolution is over. The
people of Israel have already come out in favor of
peace no matter who wins this election."
Ken Knoppow of Peace Now was also in the room co
on Wednesday. He had been monitoring the election
on his- short-wave radio. •
"The news looks good, though it's early," said Mr. _.:
Knoppow.
For Mr. Raviv, however, the results seemed like >, z --
a million miles away.
"In the last election," he said with a sad sort of
smile, "I was in Israel. I was working for (Yitzhak) 3
Rabin." ❑