Irh i Wuek THE ISSUE Although Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has served in office less than two years, he has lost his governing majority and must now dissolve the Knesset (parliament) and call for new elections. It is not guaranteed that he will continue on as prime minister. BEHIND THE ISSUE Sharon was elected prime minister in a separate ballot in 200L'under a system that now has been changed. The next prime minister will be the head of the political party best able to form a majority government after the upcoming February parliamentary election. — Allan Gale, Jewish Community •Council ofPletropolitan Detroit Windows Starting at MN 00 Tic CLEVER GAMBIT from page 31 33222 Groesbeck Highway, Fraser MI 48026 JIF is a registered trademark of JAI Smucker co 2003 BUICK RENDEZVOUS Stk. # 511068 $286/Mo. Lease (36 mos./$1,804 due at signin *plus tax, title & plates, includes Buick to uick ...great people to choose from! The new and improved Detroit Jewish Connector. It's the best way to meet great people in the Detroit area! Why? Because our new matching and notification features make It simple and giveyou more control over who you meet and howyou meet them. 11/8 2002 32 CHARLIE WARSHAW 248-353-1300 TaIDAMROFF 28585 Telegraph K U C B South of 12 Mile • Southfield ,,t, IF, I 0 t.tiMraVItawlalt.im JEWISH CONNECTOR Ca// now to place your ad and get in on the fun! 1-866-600-3023 so, by the current, centrist party leader, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, or by more left-wing politicians such as Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna or Knesset member Haim Ramon? Leadership primaries are due for Labor on Nov. 19. Likud primaries probably will be held soon afterward. Recent polls show Likud likely to rise from its current 19 Knesset seats to almost 30, while Labor would fall from 24 to around 20. However, those polls were taken when Labor was still in the Likud-led government, with no undisputed leader and no clear political identity of its own. As a fighting opposition under a leader with a clear mandate, Labor's support could rise, even though there is not much time until elections. Sharon has indicated that he will campaign as the experienced, responsi- ble, unifier of the nation, dismissing his opponents as divisive and inexperi- enced. For all their substantive policy differences, both Netanyahu and Labor argue that, unlike Sharon, they can actually solve the nation's problems. Whoever wins the Labor primary is expected to target the settlers, arguing that Likud is beholden to the settlers and thus can't make peace with the Palestinians and solve the nation's acute security and socioeconomic problems. Ironically, the early elections could turn out to have been very nicely timed: A post-Iraq America and a post-election Israel could get down to serious business on the basis of the American plan for peace with the Palestinians. -1