Hawks' Beaks, Doves' Feathers: Likud Prime Ministers Between Ideology and Reality
2005; Indiana University Press; Volume: 10; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2979/isr.2005.10.3.154
ISSN1527-201X
Autores Tópico(s)Globalization and Cultural Identity
ResumoSINCE THE POLITICAL UPHEAVAL OF May 17, 1977, Israel has had four Likud Prime Ministers-Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Ariel Sharon. All four had pledged allegiance to the Greater Israel (Eretz Israel Hashlemah) ideology before being elected and during tenure. Different from each other in background, in style, and language as they might have been, all of them were elected on the Greater Israel ticket, having disassociated themselves and their Likud Party from Labor mainly on this issue. Judging by their past positions and their criticism of Labor's territories for peace policy, one might have concluded that none of them would relinquish anything in negotiating the future of Eretz Israel; however, the policies they conducted were, indeed, different, resulting in shaking the foundations of Greater Israel ideology. In the end it appears that under Likud leadership the Land of Israel is about to be partitioned-manifesting the antithesis of Revisionist Zionism. Although it is too early to sum up Ariel Sharon's policy and evaluate its results, it is already clear that his initiative for Israeli disengagement from Gaza and his acceptance of President Bush's road map eventually leads to partition. Its parameters, from exact boundaries to time-table are irrelevant from an ideological point of view. However, since this policy is still in the making, this article analyzes the development of the approaches of Begin, Shamir, and Netanyahu. The comparative study shows that Begin, as the main ideology-maker after Jabotinsky, was obliged to consider opportunities and constraints, and as prime minister he also had to acknowledge considerations of Realpolitik. The result was a moderation of his ideological demands; indeed, Begin revised Revisionism. In the transition from Begin to Shamir, the ideological
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