Levy crisis: a lone crying wolf who means it this time
Israel, Politics, 1/2/1998

³We are tired of him, but it¹s impossible without him,² an aide in the Prime Minister¹s office said late Thursday night referring to the latest crisis between Benyamin Netanyahu and his foreign minister David Levy. ³Levy plays games to get respect. It¹s all extortion. He waves around social slogans. He represents the weaker sectors of the population, but he and his crowd go around with expensive watches and suits,² the official added, firing back at Levy who, hours earlier announced his intention to resign and consequently pushed the whole government into a state of panic that ended with the postponement of Knesset voting on Israel's fiscal budget until Monday.

The crisis with David Levy wasn¹t resolved but attempts continued and are due to continue until Monday 14:00 hrs. local time when the Knesset convenes for the vote. But even if the showdown with Levy comes to an end, observers believe it might push the finance minister, Yaacov Neeman, to resign over his discontent with the amount of money that Levy is demanding in order to stay in the government. Netanyahu's close aides spoke openly on the crucial choice their boss will have to make between Levy and Neeman, who has no party power to back him and was brought to join the government upon a personal invitation from Netanyahu. Neeman has announced that he would not agree to Netanyahu breaching the budget framework by extra monetary promises to various government ministries and, if Levy's demands are met, they would cost the budget at least US $100 million.

The Netanyahu-Levy relationship is full of bitter experiences in the past. Their feud dates back to 1991 when Levy, as foreign minister in the Shamir government, was Netanyahu's boss, who served as deputy foreign minister. When the Madrid conference for peace in the Middle East was convened, Levy decided to boycott it because of Shamir's decision to head the Israeli delegation and to take Netanyahu with him.

This time, however, the crisis is particularly serious, but Netanyahu's aides do not rule out a possible solution acceptable to Levy, whose presence in the government is vital should Netanyahu decided to go ahead with the redeployment of Israeli troops in the West Bank. A government without Levy may never take such a decision and Netanyahu will face another threat to his government as the Third Way party also threatened to quit if the redeployment is not carried out.

The Netanyahu-crisis will have its impact on US efforts to push the peace process forward in the region and speculators have already noted that US President Bill Clinton may call off his meeting with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat scheduled later this month if no results are achieved before then. US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Dennis Ross, is due to arrive in the region Monday despite the current government crisis in Israel. "If Ross's efforts fail to achieve a breakthrough, the summit meetings President Clinton plans separately with Netanyahu and Arafat might be postponed until February," said Egyptian ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Basyouni in a lecture he delivered in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening.

Whether Levy is a lone crying wolf or does he mean it this time is still unclear but he has compiled a long history of resignation threats without following through on the threats. His resignation threats date back even to the second term of the Menahem Begin government in 1981 when Levy refused to take part in the ceremony inaugurating the new government, since he wasn¹t made deputy prime minister. Only after this honor was promised to him, did he turn up for the event.

In 1991: After then Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir headed the Israeli delegation for the peace conference in Madrid and took Netanyahu with him, a crisis broke out with Levy, the foreign minister who felt he was being bypassed and threatened to resign.

In 1992: Levy submitted a resignation letter to Shamir, after his colleagues were locked out of top spots on the Likud candidates¹ list. ³I looked in their eyes, like a monkey who has climbed down from a tree,² Levy said in a famous phrase. After a few days, Levy gave up on his threats, after being given the number two spot on the Likud list.

July 1996: While the Netanyahu government was being formed, Levy threatened to quit should Ariel Sharon not be given a top portfolio. Netanyahu gave in and invented the infrastructure post for Sharon.

August 1996: Levy threatened to quit again, protesting his non-involvement in political decision making. The dispute lasted three weeks and was defused in the end during a lunch meeting with Netanyahu.

June 1997: Levy was furious that Netanyahu didn¹t inform him about Sharon¹s secret meeting with Abu Mazen, PLO number 2 official. He threatened to quit but backed down after a couple of phone calls with Netanyahu.

July 1997: Another dispute broke out when Ariel Sharon was included in the so-called kitchen cabinet of Netanyahu as social and economic differences between Levy and Netanyahu increased. Levy threatened to leave the government and boycotted some of its meetings. A compromise was reached in the end, with the prime minister assenting to Levy¹s demands.

October 1997: Following the bungled assassination attempt on Hamas leader in Amman, Khaled Mishal, Levy threatened to resign, claiming he wasn¹t briefed about the plan. ³The chances of my leaving are about 50-50,² he said. The 50 percent probability of his sticking around won.

Previous Stories:
  Israeli crisis cause of present impasse with Palestinians   (10/20/1997)
  Israel   (10/10/1997)
  Levy attacks Netanyahu, considers quitting government   (7/3/1997)

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