An Interview with Shulamit Aloni

By William N. Dale

"Our right to self-determination will be neither secure nor complete until the Palestinians are able to exercise the same right."

This quote is not from one of the minor Israeli peace groups but from the platform and brochure of the Civil Rights Movement, the fifth most successful party in the Nov. 1 election in which 27 lists competed.

As an old Israel watcher, I interviewed the leader of that party, Shulamit Aloni, shortly before the election. Her outlook for Israel's politics was pessimistic. She saw Israelis polarizing into two bitterly opposed camps the peacemakers who wish to return the bulk of the West Bank and Gaza to the Arabs in the context of a negotiated peace, and those who wish to hold on to the land and suppress or drive out the Arabs.

Meir Kahane's goal to force the Arabs out of Israel, she explained, has now been adopted by many supporters of Likud and of other small parties. There are growing numbers of Jewish fanatics just waiting to go after the Arabs. A major terrorist incident or another Arab-Israeli war could give them the excuse they need. In her view, religious fanatics are more and more reinforcing the nationalist extremists. This long-time member of the Knesset sees a similarity between these Israeli fanatics and groups of fascists in Italy before Mussolini took power.

Israel, she said, has to be saved from itself and only strong action by the superpowers working together can do it. If the new American administration does not supply the powerful leadership which Reagan failed to provide, Israel could slip into extremism and civil violence.

When I pointed out that American Zionists are now so strong that perhaps no such powerful leadership should be expected from us, she replied that somehow the new president would have to rise above the morass of domestic politics and act decisively.

Israel was so tense during my visit that I began to feel Aloni had a very strong point. The election results have done nothing to relieve the pessimism that I too feel about her country.

The silver lining is that many responsible Israelis like Aloni are aware of Israel's drift toward more violence and are working all out for peace. As she explained: "Both Israelis and Palestinians have suffered much in the past. The time has come to cut the Gordian Knot of eternal war."

William N. Dole is a retired US ambassador and served as US deputy chief of mission in Tel Aviv.