'The burden of proof is on me.' Peretz
Photo: Omri Eilat
Getting self (ministerial) defense
Retired generals meet with defense minister twice a week, very late at night; the thing is that Peretz never even cared about security issues and learned about the defense industries mainly when he dealt with their labor unions
Last Sunday, around midnight, a group of former senior officers secretly came to the bureau of Defense Minister Amir Peretz. Retired generals David Ivri, Dani Rothschild, Amos Malka, Avi Primor, and Dave Kimche, and civilian Uzi Bar'am sat there until dawn. Each side presented their view. Peretz asked many questions, occasionally requesting a translation for a military term.
Ever since the fighting started, this group has been meeting with the defense minister twice a week, always in his bureau, always very late at night. In one of the meetings, for example, they discussed the issue of sending large infantry forces into Lebanon. Almost everyone in the forum, which comprised of graduates of the first war of Lebanon, was against. Peretz heard their message, let it sink, and passed it on to the General Staff officers.
The transformation from leader of the working class to leader of soldiers into battle made many wonder, and not only because the biography of the Israeli defense minister does not include a glorious military chapter. The thing is that Peretz never even cared about security issues and learned about the defense industries mainly when he dealt with their labor unions.
When the leader of the workers who yells through a loudspeaker assumed this most important national role, some had a hard time stomaching the transition. Those who have grown accustomed to hearing him speak about the struggle of the workers have a hard time listening when he speaks of fighting Nasrallah.
Peretz is aware of his sensitive situation. "Clearly, more than any defense minister before me, the burden of proof is on me," he told his people. "Still, I am a so-called outsider. I am not one of the old boys. We do not share a history. We did not sweat it out together on the trails to the General Staff."
Deep waters of war
To his credit, it must be noted that he understands his limits and takes advice when it is needed. Even his rivals agree that he is a fast learner. At the same time, there were several detectable problems with the way he handled himself, particularly during the first days of the conflict, when his mood mainly depended on decisions made at the General Staff.
This is why, when IDF officers envisioned victory albums, Peretz went overboard with belligerent statements such as "we will break Hizbullah," or "Nasrallah will never forget Amir Peretz."
After three weeks of fighting, Peretz is already more sober when he speaks with his people in his bureau. He even has a new, more balanced and moderate message. "The Katyushas will not stop," he clarified. "There is no way we could destroy tens of thousands of Katyusha launchers. As long as the confrontation continues, there will be a drizzle. As the situation escalates further, it is clearer to me that the absolute solution is diplomatic."
Ashes, dust, and drops of sadness
Peretz cannot sleep. On the chopper, headed to the north, he just sat musing quietly. During that day, his old cheerful self, all smiles and hugs, emerged only twice - when he met with the artillery soldiers and later with a group of Tiberians. Only with them did he allow himself to put down the heavy load he shouldered when he assumed post.
He does not move around with a large entourage. On this trip, he was accompanied by Brig Gen Eytan Dangot, his bureau chief, and spokesman Ilan Ostfeld. Throughout the day, they occasionally urged him to take a bite. He runs an unhealthy life, a disorganized schedule, they said. He travels to the north two to three times a week. He does not eat properly and does not get enough sleep. Later, when he stands in front of the cameras, it shows, and it costs.
He constantly speaks of his home in Sederot, though he never once called home during this tour. Sederot follows him wherever he goes. When he was Histadrut leader, he spoke of his town in the context of poverty and distress. I come from Sederot, he used to declare. Now, that he is defense minister, Sederot is mentioned in the context of the missiles.
Even when he hosted Rice in a meeting that seems so far away from the burning north, he said: "Look at the absurdity of all this. Katyushas are falling on the defense minister's town."
On 25 June, the first report of the Kerem Shalom incident reached Peretz at home, at 05:30. On his way to the office, he still hoped that abducted soldier Gilad Shalit would be found, but his military secretary updated that the situation has grown complicated. Peretz arrived in his bureau frustrated and depressed. "He had tears in his eyes," a close friend related. "He was really torn up inside."
When the defense minister first heard the bad news, he was exhausted, suffering from serious lack of sleep, and anyone who entered his office could see that.
The rebels' front
While dealing with the security events, Peretz had to deal with his own rear front. The Labor rebels would not let go. Matan Vilnai stood out when he lashed at the defense minister saying, "His lack of military experience is causing bloodshed."
He later apologized and expressed his support for Peretz, but the harsh remarks echoed in the air. When the Labor faction held its 26 June meeting, Peretz looked broken down. There were moments there that he looked like he is on the verge of incapacity.
"This was the first time I had to deal with a kidnapping incident," he explained his slur. "I had to be careful about what I am saying. I would rather look confused than reveal information, God forbid. I stopped a few times to reconsider what I was about to say. This, coupled with the fact that I was very tired, created the impression of confusion on my part."
Operation mustache
In the end, however, his assistants came back to their senses and decided to "reorganize" the minister. Near the end of the first week of the war, they called in a hairdresser, at 01:00, to trim his hair and mustache, and then sent him to sleep for a few hours.
"He always needs a few days to regain his focus," said Peretz' friend Bar'am, "but he has rare strength, even when compared with Sharon, Rabin, or Peres. He needs some time, but he always falls on his feet."
Peretz told one of his associates that he has already recovered. "Normally, I am very anxious before I make a decision, but once things start rolling, I am very clear and sharp. I am anxious for as long as it is not clear that the decisions I made were right."
Some of the military decisions he made were indeed not simple at all. Among other things, he expanded the model of ground raids, which the IDF has been avoiding ever since the disengagement.
The match in the thorn field
Peretz received the news on the kidnapping of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser on 12 July while attending a large discussion in his bureau. "Suddenly, the chief of Operations burst into the room and gave us the news," a person who attended the meeting related. Peretz, so it seemed, took it hard.
"I felt like there was this huge thorn field there," he told his people, "and someone threw in a burning match and now it is on fire. My heart sank. Such events come with emotional upheavals, each bigger than the next."
He started feeling better as soon as the chief of staff presented him with a contingency plan the army had for such incidents. It spoke of a very powerful offensive and Peretz, who was never asked to make similar decisions, was as eager as the military echelon.
He made his first decision a few hours later. The IDF first asked for an authorization of an operation in which IAF jets were to fire rockets directly at residential buildings in Lebanese villages. They referred to houses of residents who had been hiding launchers of the long-range Fajr missiles. Peretz did not hesitate. "We need to redefine the issue of 'uninvolved civilians.' The terrorists have been using this as a defensive method that ties our hands and feet," he explained.
The operation was authorized and the IAF was successful that morning. At that stage, certain General Staff officers became euphoric. Others rushed to estimate that "we destroyed most of the launchers and Nasrallah is stunned." Peretz did not lag behind, praised the operation, and spoke of "eliminating Hizbullah." In a phrase that leaked to the press, he told ministers in a closed meeting that "Nasrallah will never forget Amir Peretz."
Speaking to the Artillery Corps soldiers in the north last week, however, he changed his tune. "This operation should not revolve around the question of whether Nasrallah was hit or not," he said. "Even if we fail to harm him physically, his status has been impaired and is eroding further."
He is the boss
Just like Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Peretz also felt that the operation must be dramatic and crucial. He did not hold back on IDF ideas. As far as he was concerned, he did not mind that people on the other side of the border might think him mad, as long as they know that he is the boss. To attain his goals, he had to confront other cabinet members and convince them that the Hizbullah quarter in Beirut must be bombed.
Working class hero
Peretz bureau staffers maintain that he gains in self-confidence every day. Very little has been left from the confused minister who spoke after the Kerem Shalom kidnapping. Media experts have said that Peretz is also shedding the image of the Histadrut secretary general with a loudspeaker, acquiring a stately image.
The working class hero, however, emerges here and there, even in the most difficult hours. Once, after Akko was shelled again, Peretz called the city's fire fighters and held an excited conversation with them. He spent last Sabbath in a shelter in Shlomi, just like he used to spend Sabbaths with workers who fenced themselves inside closed factories. When he saw an IAF officer with coffee stains on his shirt, he walked up to him and said, "I also always have coffee stains on my shirt, because it spills."
Recently, when he was asked whether he will go back to leading the workers, or did he fall in love with his new role, he did not hesitate: "I am beginning to connect, but I am still ready to change direction and go to the Finance Ministry any moment."
