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She's Not A Sheep
One of Israel's most outspoken politicians sees a
bleak road ahead under Netanyahu.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
I
n 1965, newly elected MK Shu-
lamit Aloni walked into the
Knesset, her curly blonde hair
falling about her shoulders and
onto her brown dress, an outfit she
regarded tasteful enough, even
quite pretty. But it was about to
cause a minor scandal and mark
the beginning of her controversial
career.
The problem was that the dress
had no sleeves.
One rabbi, also a member of the
Knesset, regarded the attire as im-
modest and chided Ms. Aloni.
Newspapers everywhere picked
up on the story.
Ms. Aloni sent the MK flowers.
It was the least she could do, she
said. His remarks had brought her
such unexpected, instant fame.
For the past 30 years Ms. Aloni
has been one of Israel's most out-
spoken politicians. A Knesset
member, newspaper columnist,
lawyer, teacher and, most recent-
ly, minister of communications,
science and the arts under former
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, she
Shulamit Aloni's primary goal is
complete democracy in Israel.
is a dedicated humanist and sec-
ularist constantly at odds (to put
it mildly) with religious and polit-
ically conservative Jews in Israel.
Not surprisingly, Ms. Aloni, who
was in Detroit this week to speak
at the Birmingham Temple, ex-
pressed little satisfaction with the
Israeli government of Prime Min-
ister Binyamin Netanyahu.
"None of us knows exactly what
the man wants," she said. "He
speaks very nicely, but he says
nothing."
For the first time, "I look at life
in horror," she said. She is certain
Mr. Netanyahu is leading Israel
to another war, "and this time Is-
rael will not be able to blame any-
one." The country has signed an
agreement with the Palestinians,
there is peace with Egypt, and ne-
gotiations have been held with
Syria. "We cannot say the whole
world is against us."
She cannot begin to understand
how Mr. Netanyahu was elected,
though she has some ideas. She
believes his Likud Party played
successfully on old fears that Arabs
hate and want all Jews dead. She
speculates that the Labor Party
didn't campaign hard enough.
She is certain, however, that the
vast majority — 80 percent — of
the Israeli public continues to sup-
port the peace process initiated by
Mr. Netanyahu's predecessor.
Of equal concern to Ms. Aloni
are the "fanatical religious" men
and women who see themselves
as sheep headed by a kind of rab-
binical shepherd.
"I don't want to be a sheep,"
she said. "I was created in the
image of God. I was created a hu-
man being."
She pointed to Yigal Amir,
Yitzhak Rabin's killer, as an ex-
ample of this religious zeal out of
There's only
One way to
sit on quality
leather
for less.
control. "And Baruch Goldstein
(who murdered dozens of Arabs in
a mosque in Hebron) is today re-
garded a saint, and they call him
kadosh (holy)."
Israelis used to speak with ul-
timate fear of Muslim fundamen-
talists, she said. Now they need to
look at their own.
"It is a threat — this messian-
ic Judaism that believes it has per-
mission to break laws. It's even
worse than fascism."
As an MK, Ms. Aloni was nev-
er known for timid demeanor or
subtlety when addressing those
with whom she was at odds. Her
tongue remains as sharp as ever,
but she is not bitter or cruel and
she will not characterize those
with whom she disagrees as "the
enemy."
Chains of smoke from Time cig-
arettes, the most popular brand in
Israel, drift about her as she
speaks. Unlike most politicians,
Ms. Aloni has a sense of humor
about herself. She enjoys playing
tennis and swimming and is writ-
ing a book, she said, and when not
serving in the Knesset she's still
talking politics, still "screaming,"
she said.
Ms. Alonfs goal for Israelis, first
and foremost, democracy, with
equal human, religious and polit-
ical rights for men and women,
Jew and gentile. There would be
total "freedom of faith," along with
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civil marriage and divorce. The
"collective punishment" so fre-
quently inflicted on Palestinians
would end, she said. She sees the
latter as a biblical imperative. Af-
ter all, didn't Abraham argue with
God when He wanted to destroy
all of Sodom and Gomorrah?
Democracy is the only real fo-
rum that accommodates the views
of all Israelis, she said.
"I don't want to compromise
with somebody who thinks evo- 41-4
lution never existed, who thinks
God created the world in a few
days," she said. "In a democra-
cy, no one has the absolute truth
and everyone has the right to do
what he wants."
She is not worried about the
identity of an Israel no longer di-
rected and defined by Halachah
(Jewish law). Israel would retain
Jewish political sovereignty, she
said, would continue to function 011
on a Jewish calendar, with Jewish
holidays, and Hebrew would be the
state language.
"Where you live as a minority
(as in the United States), you need
signs and traditions to sustain
yourself," she said. But where
Jews are a majority, culture —
"literature, thinking and the
rhythm of life" — can provide one
with all the identity he needs. Be-
ing Jewish today "doesn't mean we
have to continue to live in the ghet-
to," she said.
❑
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