Lieberman, toning down?
Photo: AFP
Arens, calls concerns 'nonesense'
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Ben-Ami, 'We will not be ostracized'
Liel, 'Problem could be with Arab diplomats'
Photo: GPO
Lancry, predicts success for Lieberman
Photo: Zoom 77
'West won't boycott Lieberman as FM'
Former foreign ministers, ministry officials dismiss concerns over Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman's probable upcoming appointment as Israel's next foreign minister. Officials say Lieberman toning down image, cannot act on his own. Former FM Ben-Ami says, 'Anyone who hasn't boycotted Hamas, Hizbullah, won't boycott Lieberman'
As the formation of a government approaches, and political figures express more and more concern over the Foreign Ministry portfolio being granted to Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman, who recently was quoted as telling the Egyptian president to "go to hell", former ministry officials say there is no reason to panic.
"Nonsense", said former Foreign Minister Moshe Arens, dismissing fears that other countries would boycott Israel if Lieberman was appointed. "These are cries of people who don't understand foreign relations or Israel-US ties. It is not customary, and certainly not between countries with friendly ties, to boycott over one appointment or another.
"It hasn't happened in the State of Israel's 60 years of existence and it won't happen now either." Arens continued to point out that a foreign minister does not act alone and "simply executes policies set by the government. So people should relax and be realistic."
'Lieberman not the issue - gov't is'
Another former FM, Shlomo Ben-Ami, expressed a similar opinion, saying, "We will not reach a point of being ostracized. Anyone who hasn't boycotted Hamas, Hizbullah and the Taliban, will not boycott Lieberman. I have no doubt that he will tone down his image."Ben-Ami also said that it was not Lieberman who was the issue, but the composition of the government. "It's not a matter of who's sitting in the foreign minister's seat, but of how much maneuvering he will be allowed in a government made up of the National Union and Habayit Hayehudi."
Former Director-General of the Foreign Ministry Dr. Alon Liel said there's no reason to be alarmed if Lieberman is appointed, since "there is a large gap between how well Lieberman is known in Israel and how well he is known in the world. I hope that by the end of the term he turns into a dove. This could be an amazing period of Lieberman's reeducation. After you go through the Foreign Ministry, and are yelled at by a diplomat every day, you start to think against your will."
Liel did, however, express concerns over relations between Lieberman and Arab Israeli diplomats, saying, "Every Arab diplomat that knows the appointed minister's dream is that Israel's Arabs live in Palestine will have a problem with the appointment. I predict tension between them and problems on operational matters."
'Cries against Lieberman premature'
Former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Yehuda Lancry said the cries against Lieberman were understandable, due to some of his problematic statements, but that they are also premature."The international community is about to discover an interesting man. Anyone who follows his political career will find that he is a man of action and not of diplomacy. He focused on practical government ministries - infrastructure and transportation, and filled both roles successfully, and no complaints were made against him. I predict similar success in other ministries as well."
Lancry compared Lieberman to Menachem Begin, who, when he came to power in 1977, was initially perceived by some western countries in a bad light. "Despite this, the man succeeded, in a very short time, to bring about dialogue with the most important Arab country and brought peace with Egypt.
"So I am certain that a man like Lieberman has a very promising path ahead. He has already declared on a number of occasions that he would be willing to evacuate the settlement he lives in for real peace, and has said that he does not oppose a Palestinian state. I see no clashes with the American administration. The US is a democracy, and it will honor Israel's democratic decision."
