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| Ariel Sharon |
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Two weeks passed from the moment of arranging by Ariel Sharon of a confidential meeting devoted to the future of the Israeli - Russian relations. Strangely enough, there is no even slightest reminder of this meeting in the local mass media. First of all, it may be explained by the fact that Israeli journalists are preoccupied with coverage of the beginning of disengagement plan realization. For the last weeks all and every loud local events are connected to forthcoming Israeli withdrawal from Gaza (act of terrorism by the Jewish extremist in the Arab city, resignation of the Minister of Finance, etc.). Newspapers' front pages, radio and TV news releases leave no place for the foreign policy and international politics. However, there is yet another reason why Israeli journalists ignore the fact of a confidential meeting on August, 2.
During the last years, the level of information leakage from the supreme bodies of Israeli authority to the press has reached boundless scales. After each session of the Government or the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy and Security, the participants hasten to inform their familiar journalists on details of discussion. The assistants to Prime Minister, Ministers and members of the parliament are not confused even with the fact that the information they uncover is mostly a State secret. As a consequence, the USA began more often to refuse to coordinate its actions with Israel, especially those, concerning the Pentagon and special services. Therefore, before Saddam Hussein's overthrow the American military did not disclose their operating plans to their Israeli colleagues. For the same reason throughout 2003 the USA and Britain did not inform Israel at all on their secret negotiations with Libya. At the beginning of 2004, an attempt to adjust secret dialogue between Tel Aviv and Tripoli ended with failure. The reason was simple - one of the Israeli officials told his confidant journalist about the course of confidential contacts…
Such a situation has formed in Israel because the attention of the mass media to this or that public person nowadays influences not only his or her rating in the polls, but also the position in the party or in the office. In many respects, "friendship" with the journalists helps to achieve such a necessary attention, but it is paid for by a constant transfer of the information to these "friends".
In parallel, information leakages to mass media are also organized by some politicians, important officials, and businessmen either aiming to discredit their competitors, or publishing of the important confidential information bout their competitors. Both forms of such "cooperation" bring benefit to the journalists (or to their employers), and to their "sources". However, if publication of a certain data is unwanted by both sides, the public will never know about it. The meeting on August, 2, was one of such cases. No one of those who attended it had interest that the mass media get any information about this discussion. This caused extremely uncharacteristic situation for the Israeli leadership. Despite of the differences in estimation of certain processes, the participants of the meeting adhered almost to a common opinion on the strategic issues. However, Sharon's office, keeping the meeting in full secrecy, did not consider one important nuance. The experts from several departments and public services participated in preparation of the discussion. Some of them are high-ranking experts on Russia and the Eastern Europe. These experts not only had not been admitted to participate in the meeting (only their bosses were invited), but also the recommendations prepared by them were ignored completely. This very circumstance finally allowed us to learn exactly what positions concerning the future relations with Russia did the major participants of the meeting chose for themselves.
Choosing the main players
Members of administration of several ministries and governmental bodies participated in the meeting on August, 2. The positions and the motives of those, who play an outstanding role in relations with Russia represent a special interest.
The Prime Minister's Office
Among the numerous assistants to the Head of the Israeli Government only few participated in the meeting: Director General of the PM's Office, Ilan Cohen; Military Secretary Yoav Galant; Adviser on Foreign Policy, Shalom Turgeman; and Adviser on Jewish Diaspora Affairs, Meirav Katrieli-Shtreker. All of them have rather poor understanding of the issues concerning Russia.
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Ilan Cohen |
Ilan Cohen is economist; he supervises mainly internal economic questions. From all the foreigners he prefers the Frenchmen, for he received his higher education in France and speaks French. At the same time, being in his present post for a year and two months, Cohen participated several times in contacts with the Russians on strategic questions of economic cooperation (in particular in negotiations with the head of Gazprom in June, 2004). In these cases he acted as the personal expert-economist of the Prime Minister.
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| Yoav Galant |
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Yoav Galant was previously heading a Naval Commando unit. Since July, 2002, he occupies one of the most important posts in the Israeli state apparatus. He has accompanied Sharon in all of his trips to Moscow after the latter was elected the Prime Minister. In Russia, Galant participated not only in high-level meetings, but also in negotiations of the Israeli representatives with the Russian military officials. Despite this fact, he has very little idea about the situation in Russia. Moreover, Galant is not particularly engaged in any issues concerning cooperation with Moscow.
Shalom Turgeman heads the foreign policy department of the Prime Minister's office since March, 2003. He was involved in almost all the contacts of his chief with the Russian officials. However, the Russian issues are of no interest for Turgeman. He obviously prioritizes the Arab (more precisely Jordanian-Palestinian), and the American directions of policy. They are considered to be the most prestigious among the Israeli diplomats, and besides that, in the past Turgeman had been working in AMAN (Israeli military intelligence) for rather a long period, and maintains good connections there.
Meirav Katrieli-Shtreker has spent almost a decade in Sharon's coterie, since August, 2002 being his adviser on the affairs of the Jewish Diaspora. At this post she on several occasions met different prominent public and financial Jewish figures of Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine. At the same time, she has a rather poor understanding of the complexities of the Jewish community life in the former Soviet Republics.
At the meeting on August, 2, all the four of them almost did not express any opinion. However, these people, together with several other confidants of the Prime Minister, often play a key role in decision-making on the major State issues.
Ministry of Defense
Almost all the most significant figures of the Israeli Defense Ministry participated in August, 2, meeting: Director General Amos Yaron; Head of Internal Security Department (a powerful secret service of the Ministry), Yahiel Horev; Head of Foreign Policy and Security Department, Amos Gilad; and Chief of Military Intelligence Analytical Department, Yossi Kuperwasser. The former three of these persons for many years worked within the supreme circle of the security system of the Jewish state. Moreover,
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Amos Yaron |
Amos Yaron and Yahiel Horev are the key figures in the mechanism of manufacture and export of the Israeli arms. Yaron has brought an essential contribution to promotion of the domestic weapon business on the markets of the CIS member-states. He and Horev also actively participated in development of military cooperation with China. For that reason, in June, 2005, Washington demanded from Tel Aviv to dismiss both of them from their posts. However it did not happen. Moreover, the heads of the Defense Ministry considered American demarche as a rough intervention in personnel issues of the sovereign State's ministry.
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| Yahiel Horev |
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With regard of all aforesaid, it is natural that Amos Yaron and Yahiel Horev can hardly be ranked today as admirers of Bush-Junior Administration. As before, they continue to be directly involved in development of military cooperation with Russia and China (this cooperation continues, despite the American anger). In discussions on this issue, however, he story of their unaccomplished dismissal, though unspoken, still serves as an important background.
Amos Yaron's and Yahiel Horev's speeches at the meeting on August, 2, were rather lengthy. They have expressed opinion that Israel should not be guided only by the USA, as it was before. The geopolitical and economic role of China and India is growing promptly. They already are the largest powers in Eurasia, and in the long term they will contest for a leading position in larger scale. Refusal, under the US pressure, to develop strategic partnership with China and India will have the most negative consequences for Israel. Yaron stated that cooperation with Beijing and Delhi might support whole branches of the Israeli economy (like military industry, hi-tech, manufacture of agricultural and medical equipment, etc.). Besides, the interaction with these countries, especially with China, will allow Israel to strengthen its positions not only in Asia (in particular in the Far East, Southeast and the Central Asia), but also in Africa.
Horev noted that in the situation that develops today, Israel cannot rely only on one center of power in the international policy. According to him, after realization of the disengagement plan, the US pressure upon Israel will constantly grow. Washington will try to improve its relations with the EU and the Arab world at the Israel's expense. In Horev's opinion, it is necessary to lower the level of dependence on America as soon as possible.
In addition Amos Yaron emphasized, that the development of strategic partnership with Russia promotes Israel
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Amos Gilad |
i position on the Chinese and Indian markets of military production. He gave a number of examples, one of which is the joint Israeli-Russian project for modernization of the Uzbek planes to be sold to India. Talking about successful development of cooperation with Russia, Amos Yaron informed about preparation of the visit to Moscow of the Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. Moreover, in the near future the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army, Yury Baluevsky is going to visit Tel Aviv.
Head of Foreign Policy and Security Department, Amos Gilad (in the past he was the Chief of Military Intelligence Analytical Department) called in question some theses of Amos Yaron and Yahiel Horev. However, as a whole he agreed with their vision of the situation, and a forecast for the future.
Chief of Military Intelligence Analytical Department, Yossi Kuperwasser was silent during the entire meeting. Only once did he answer a question of the Prime Minister concerning military connections of Russia with the Arab countries and Iran. Kuperwasser noted in particular that the sale of the anti-aircraft – missile complexes "Streletz" to Damascus does not represent a real threat to Israel's security, though it will complicate the flights of the Israeli Air Forces above Syria.
To be continued
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