Yigal Yadin's Surprise Party

...When the war was over, and Ben Gurion placed Yadin in charge of the fledgling nation's armed forces, Yadin began laying the foundation for Israel's modern army...

...And when he announced, it was not a fullblown commitment—just a "test...

...Unlike most of his colleagues, Amit resigned his position, to which he had been appointed by Labor...

...At any point in the delicate balancing act of constructing a new force in Israeli politics, Yadin may stumble...

...That's just not done in Israel, and it has limited Yadin's bargaining power with some of those who might have been willing to join with him in return for a "guaranteed" position on the list...

...After all, even the most optimistic estimates of DASH's success still assume that Labor—mauled, "defeated," and all the rest—will remain Israel's largest political party...

...This was enough to get him started, but scarcely enough to wage a serious campaign...

...As it may in any case...

...Their association with DASH gives the new party a much broader ideological base—and a possible headache...

...Compare that to the loss of 2,500 out of a population of three million Jews in the Yom Kippur War—a loss which caused the fall of the Meir government...

...One might have expected a few academic endorsements, some good-government support, some coattailing by lackluster politicians...

...When Yadin's group met with Shinui, the mutual attraction led to merger—and to a name for the new party, which is an acronym for democracy and change...

...and imagination...

...He "retired" to archaeology, a field in which he quickly earned a major reputation...

...In addition to Amit, the roster of early DASH supporters reads like a partial who's who of Israeli life: General Dan Tolkovsky (former Commander of Israel's Air Force), Admiral Yochai Ben Nun (former Commander of the Navy), Isser Harel (former Chief of the Secret Service), General Meir Zoreah, Amos Ben Gurion—plus any number of professors, including several of the Hebrew University's Middle East specialists...

...Considering that Yadin's tenure as Chief of Staff came to an end 26 years ago, and that he has since devoted himself almost exclusively to matters archaeological rather than political, the Yadin phenomenon is all the more surprising...

...Three years ago, Professor Amnon Rubenstein, former Dean of the Tel Aviv Law School, stitched together a group called Shinui ("Change...

...It is a rule which may be broken this time around, but Yadin and his colleagues know full well that it is not an easy rule to break...

...yours will have second, fourth and sixth...

...These include Meir Amit, director-general of Koors, the Histadrut's leading industrial conglomerate...

...First, he announced his commitment to the preservation of the Jewish character of the State of Israel...

...Lieut...

...When, just about a year ago, Yadin announced his intention to "test the political waters," many Israelis were not surprised...

...It was, as well, a war in which certain fundamental elements of Israeli strategy were first developed, born of necessity Dan Margalit is Washington correspondent for Ha'aretz...

...Amit, whose name is not well known outside Israel, is a former head of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, and is today among Israel's more prominent doves...

...My group will have the first, third, and fifth positions...

...He comes from one of the old families of Jerusalem, among the founders of modern Zionism—an Israeli equivalent of a New England WASP...

...If its early momentum slows, DASH may come to be seen as just another in the long succession of challenges to Labor which Labor has, over the years, weathered quite handily...

...As for Yadin himself, he rejects the analogy completely, pointing out what is surely the critical difference: he has created an entirely new party, and that presents him with an entirely different set of problems from those which faced Carter...

...That war was, in many ways, Israel's most difficult, and surely Israel's most costly: of a population of some 600,000 Jews, 6,000—fully one percent—lost their lives...

...His father, Professor Sukenik, was a famous archaeologist, one of the first to discover—and recognize—the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls...

...And he named other names as well, names of prominent people in the business sector—and promised that he would have still more to tell in the weeks and months ahead...

...It continues to dominate Israel's political life, and it continues to enjoy the special prestige of pedigree: it was Labor's early leaders, more than any other single group, who were Israel's Founding Fathers...

...The Rabin government had proved itself ineffective in curbing a rash of strikes...

...DASH has also been supported by the Black Panthers, whose vocal demonstrations won considerable public attention several years back...

...And surely no one foresaw that Asher Yadlin, Labor's nominee for Governor General of the Bank of Israel, would be indicted on charges of bribery...

...But neither political acumen nor political prestige may any longer be sufficient to overcome the mounting evidence of things gone wrong at home...

...At 59, Yadin was clearly not just another querulous academic eager to voice his opinions on political matters...

...And, in addition to all the specific risks Yadin faces, there is the matter of unpredictable developments in the international situation...

...He supports extensive withdrawal from occupied territories in return for a true peace...

...A program of territorial withdrawal, an academic formula for electoral reform (he proposes the somewhat complex single transferable vote system), and a call for public sacrifice are not generally the stuff out of which instant heroes are made...

...Who would provide the organizational capability, the manpower, the political experience that Yadin required...

...Yadin had once served on a special commission established to examine the competence of Israel's intelligence community...

...His credentials could hardly be better...

...But no one could have predicted the suicide of Av-raham Ofer, Israel's Minister of Housing and a leader of the Labor Party, soon after he became aware that his activities as head of the Histadrut housing concern were under investigation by the policy...

...Some have been more successful, some less...

...Some Mapam members, for example, have expressed growing frustration over Mapam's alignment with Labor, and would likely have defected to a more liberal alternative, such as DASH...

...The country is obviously experiencing internal difficulties which could hurt Labor...

...his bribes, he allowed, were not for himself...

...Yet it seemed that Yadin was genuinely without political aspirations...

...Moreover, it is still not clear that Yadin will be able to attract significant support from the masses of Oriental Jews, whose indebtedness to established party machines is substantial...

...Yadin and his colleagues are only beginning to learn the hazards of coalition-building, and it is possible that their early success at attracting people of very divergent views will, before too long, convince the voters that DASH has no coherent position of its own...

...Quite naturally, rumors have been circulating recently that Labor leadership would be "helpful" to Gonen were he ready to challenge Yadin in the courts...

...But if attention at the time of the elections is focused on the next stage of the peace negotiations— or on some new element of international tension—the electorate may well prefer the familiarity of Labor to the electricity of DASH...

...The one rule in Israeli politics is that Labor survives...

...Perhaps for these reasons, there were those who saw in Yadin an Israeli Charles deGaulle— a born leader who chose isolation and resisted the temptations of power—and who has been awaiting the "right" crisis that would bring him to power...

...But others—most notably Shulamith Aloni and the four members of the Independent Liberal Party—have refused to risk their seats by resigning to join DASH...

...While not really a political party, Shinui did attract many political dabblers and a good number of people with some political experience...

...The Labor Party, in short, is a shambles...

...Through them, Yadin has a chance for support from the "Second Israel," that large segment, of Israel's disadvantaged, which otherwise would most likely be inaccessible to a group of do-gooders...

...So, too, Amnon Rubenstein's prominence in DASH will surely alienate many religious voters on Labor's right...

...But without such support, DASH may end up as a small parliamentary faction of the kind that has come and gone in Israeli political life so frequently before...

...Some Israelis see an analogy between Yadin and Jimmy Carter...

...His brother, Yosef Yadin, is a prominent actor...

...Translated by Hayim Goldgraber...

...Or will they, in time, blend in, and even merge with, the drably familiar political leadership which they so vehemently reject...

...Yadin supporters draw comfort from the analogy, arguing that a new figure running against the Establishment doesn't need to be very specific in order to be very successful...

...When he began, Yadin was endorsed by a rather small group of friends and celebrities...

...Yadin was put in charge of Israel's War of Independence at the age of 30...

...In this, he was not the first...

...It was he who established the reserve system which is the backbone of Israeli strategy...

...After decades of specializing in the reconstruction of ruins, he is on familiar ground...

...Instead, after just a few months of campaigning, Yadin has not only attracted considerable public support, but has managed to attract to his accelerating bandwagon a number of very different groups, ranging from Israel's Black Panthers to former right-wing leaders, as well as a significant number of the academic and business leaders of the country...

...His wife, who died not long ago, was the daughter of the renowned Zionist leader, Dr...

...What makes the Panthers important to Yadin is that they draw their major support from the poverty-stricken neighborhoods and the outlying regions of the major cities...

...He sacrificed the advantage of public funds for the presumably greater advantage of complete dissociation from the current political mess...

...Part of the explanation lies with Yadin himself...

...General Shmuel Gonen, one of the central "victims" of the Agranat Commission's findings, has been threatening court action against Yadin because of the Commission's report...

...somewhat later, he was officially made Chief of Staff...

...But one of Yadin's earliest and most startling decisions was not to allow current Knesset members to join DASH unless they first resigned their Knesset seats...

...In a recent interview with Joseph Kraft, Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin conceded that the success of his Labor Party in the elections may well depend on Labor's ability to shift the attention of the electorate from domestic problems to the international sphere...

...Arthur Rupin...

...The "right" crisis, in this instance, proved to be the Yom Kippur War...

...He kept his decision to himself for a time, as he examined more carefully the performance of the Rabin government and the temper of the Israeli public...

...Yadin's critics, of course, draw the opposite conclusion, charging Yadin with Carteresque inexperience and ideological imprecision...

...If that happens, and if, as expected, DASH then enters the coalition that will be headed by Rabin, will Yadin and the others still be seen as a new and untainted element...

...Credentials or not, one must look beyond Yadin himself to understand how this has happened...

...Meir Zoreah, director of the Israel Land Authority, and Professor Mordecai Abir, and, most recently, the miniscule Free Center Party, led by Shmuel Tamir— these range from the mildly to the militantly hawkish...

...From time to time, his opinions on political events would be sought out, but he was most often quite reticent to express them—again, unlike many of his peers...

...The commission's findings were clear and concise, but were never implemented...

...Indeed, fuzziness is already the charge most often levied against Yadin...

...So also was the public's lack of willingness to respect the government's plea for restraint in wage increases...

...Recent polls indicate that Yadin's new party may capture as much as 15 percent of the vote...

...The general assumption in Israel is that it was his experience as a member of the Agranat Commission that finally led Yadin to end his political isolation and to re-enter the political fray...

...John Dean-like, let fly with major bombshells...

...Shinui was intended to provide a focus for political reform with a liberal bent...

...Binyamin Ha-levi (the leading dove in Likud and a former Justice of Israel's Supreme Court) and Akiva Nof, also of Likud...

...But if DASH is also home to Tamir, it cannot be seen as so obvious an alternative to Labor's disaffected left...

...Finally, Yadin faces a specific challenge in the form of a prospective lawsuit which might sully his image...

...Nonetheless, analysts agree that the decision to require resignation helped substantially to crystallize DASH's image as a refreshing departure from the norm...

...The most significant is Shmuel Tole-dano, until recently Rabin's special advisor for Arab affairs, and a member of the Labor Party's Central Committee...

...Second, he committed himself to major reform of the Israeli electoral system...

...Still more support has come from Oded, another organization of North African Jews which includes some of the highest-placed Sephardim in the country...

...Even more bold is Yadin's decision to let all dues-paying members of DASH determine the order of the party's list for the elections...

...Yadin must feel quite at home...

...He pointed an accusing finger at the late Pinchas Sapir, Israel's long-time Minister of Finance, and at two current Cabinet members—his cousin, Minister of Education Aharon Yadlin, and Yehoshua Rabinowitz, the present Minister of Finance...

...But the very fact that so young a person was prepared to stand up to the patriarchal Prime Minister, as well as the dignity with which both comported themselves—a relative novelty in Israeli politics—added to Yadin's stature...

...this was evident...

...That decision has also cost DASH the free broadcast time on Israeli television which is allocated to established parties, as well as the support of several Knesset members who might otherwise have been inclined to join forces with DASH...

...in Israel, whose electorate is remarkably conservative in its voting behavior, such wholesale endorsement is unprecedented...

...His third "plank" was that he would undertake an intensive examination of the public's readiness to make the sacrifices necessary to change the entire infrastructure of the country...

...The Panthers are, for the most part, Jews who came to Israel from Moslem countries, whose major interest is the social and economic condition of Israel's Sephardic population...

...The differences between the two might well have led to the destruction of Yadin's political standing...

...If Yadin had chosen to amalgamate some of the smaller Knesset parties into a new umbrella organization, DASH would have benefited from public funding...

...Every time Israel faced a particularly sharp political crisis—as, for example, in the wake of the Lavon affair in the early 1960's, or on the eve of the Six Day War in 1967—Yadin's name would be mentioned as a prospective leader for the troubled nation...

...In fact, since his departure from the public arena in 1951, Yadin had often been regarded—and mentioned— as a kind of leader-in-waiting ("Prime Minister, Res.," some wrote...

...None has ever approached the instant visibility and heady prospects of DASH—Democratic Movement for Change—headed by one-time Chief of Staff Yigal Yadin...

...instead, he had transferred millions from Kupat Holim to—the Labor Party...

...But Yadin insisted that as soon as the new Knesset adopted his proposed reform, it should be dissolved and new elections, to be conducted in accordance with the reform, scheduled...

...Running against the Establishment, offering a new collection of old faces, DASH has a good deal going for it...

...Among Yadin's problems are those which derive from Israeli election laws...

...In an article published some years later, Yadin hinted that he got the idea of the reserve army from a Biblical discourse between King David and his Chief of Staff, Yoav ben Tzuryah...

...Three well-known members of the current Knesset have resigned their seats to join DASH: Tamir, Dr...

...His field, he emphatically insisted, was the politics of the ancient past...

...From ruins past to ruins present, from ruins archaeological to ruins political...

...The intersection, then, of two events: domestic problems for which Labor is seen as both directly and indirectly responsible, and the emergence of a highly respected and reasonably experienced leader, a perfect Establishment type who is utterly untainted by association with the Establishment...

...Even a test requires a platform, and Yadin proposed three basic ideas, none of which seemed likely to win him a mass following...

...In effect, Yadin's entry could not have been more aptly timed—although he could not have known this when he reached his decision...

...indeed, Ben Gurion had made a major issue out of electoral reform in an earlier campaign...

...How, then, can it be explained...

...But DASH is not merely a collection of disgruntled doves...

...In Israeli code, this means acceptance of major Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank, as opposed to the annexation of so large a territory and its Arab population...

...by Dan Margalit New parties are no novelty in Israeli elections, nor is the announcement by a well-known public personality that he intends to lead such a party...

...Public funds are made available to parties in Israel according to the strength of each, and "strength" is measured in terms of Knesset seats...

...But it may have to be much more specific about the alternatives it proposes, and its excuse—there just hasn't been time, especially since Rabin's surprise resignation and the earlier-than-expected elections—may not be acceptable after the first flurry of excitement has worn thin...

...Yadlin, director of Kupat Holim (Israel's leading health insurance program), was convicted in late February after a trial in which he...

...The answer was not long in coming...

...Following a dispute with Ben Gurion over the size of the defense budget, Yadin resigned, at the age of 33...

...Among the most prominent are a group of economists and technocrats who defected from Labor to join with Yadin and his associates...

...Years later, it was natural to appoint Yadin a member of the Agranat Commission, whose responsibility it was to examine the causes of the Yom Kippur War— and to assign responsibility for the lapses that had caused Israel to be hurt so badly...

...Since the merger, which provided DASH with a credible organizational capability, new recruits have been appearing almost daily...

...He was more at home at Masada, which he so skillfully reconstructed, or in preparing for publication the soon-to-appear Temple Scroll (which he has been working on for ten years) than in the halls of government in Jerusalem...

...Hence it is possible, for the first time in Israel's history, to imagine an end to Labor-dominated government...