-Caveat Lector-
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2000/12/03/stifgnmid02001.html
December 3 2000 MIDDLE EAST
Israel ready to hail the return of Netanyahu
Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv
WHEN the plane carrying Benjamin Netanyahu from a speaking tour
of America lands in Israel today, the man who disembarks will
have a springier step than the failed statesman ousted as prime
minister 18 months ago. "Bibi" is expected to hit the comeback
trail running.
There is unlikely to be a formal announcement. But opposition
Likud party sources believe Netanyahu will immediately begin
campaigning to win the post he lost in 1999 to Labour's Ehud
Barak. The prime minister called elections last week rather than
wait for his government to fall after the failure of the Middle
East peace process and two months of clashes between Israelis and
Palestinians that have left 275 dead.
Netanyahu must challenge Ariel Sharon, the right-wing warhorse,
for the leadership, and that fight could get dirty.But it seems
Netanyahu will not have to work too hard for public support. An
opinion poll showed that 70% of Israelis believed he would be
prime minister if elections were held now. Only 15% said Barak
would win.
The former prime minister wants to show that, as one supporter
said, "Netanyahu is not the same Netanyahu". He will try to
demonstrate that the once-arrogant performer on the international
stage learnt a lesson when Israelis discarded him.
Observers attribute his current popularity to the psychology of a
nation that longs for a strong leader and thought it had one in
Barak, who specialised during his military service in
long-distance assassination of Palestinian leaders. But Barak's
failure to make peace or to stop the Palestinian uprising gives
Netanyahu the opportunity to return.
In America Netanyahu met Condoleeza Rice, a senior foreign policy
adviser to George W Bush who is sure to be offered a senior post
if he forms an administration. Netanyahu and Al Gore, the
Democrat presidential contender, are friends.
Last month "Bibi" met politicians and media people in Moscow.
About 10% of Israeli voters are of Russian origin and watch
Russian cable TV, which covered his visit prominently.
His return is awaited anxiously in Israel. Tomorrow he is due at
the Jerusalem stadium to watch Betar Jerusalem, the city's
favourite football team. The engagement is not political, but in
the stands will be thousands of the team's fans, most of whom are
vocal Likud supporters.
Netanyahu's people call him a magician; they believe he has
virtuoso ability in all areas, an impression he has maintained
since his defeat. He has bought a large four-bedroom flat in
Jerusalem for £700,000, a huge sum, having been a consultant for
Israel's high-tech barons keen to use his international contacts.
They paid him more than £700,000 a year, and were not
disappointed. In April last year Zvi Marom, the chief executive
of the telecoms company BATM, tried in vain to meet his
counterpart at Deutsche Telekom. He hired Netanyahu on a steep
retainer with stock options - and in August the German called for
an appointment. BATM shares rose sharply.
Netanyahu has left the company but still commands £42,000 a
lecture in America. His smooth presentational skills contrast
with those of Barak, the rough-edged soldier who is not rated as
a diplomat, even by his supporters.
Colleagues expect Netanyahu's wife, Sarah, to adopt a lower
profile than before. She attracted unwelcome publicity in a
dispute with a nanny - and allegations that she made her husband
wash his hands repeatedly after meeting Yasser Arafat, the
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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