VZCZCXRO3770
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHTV #0351/01 0311504
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311504Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9156
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000351 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR SCUL KISL IS
SUBJECT:  ISRAEL APPOINTS FIRST ARAB MUSLIM CABINET MINISTER 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (U) Fifty-eight years since the establishment of the state of 
Israel, the first Arab Muslim has been sworn in as a government 
minister (although currently without a portfolio). Labor MK Ghaleb 
Majadleh's controversial appointment was spearheaded by Labor party 
leader Amir Peretz, who most observers believe was looking for a way 
to bolster his chances of being reelected in Labor's upcoming 
primaries. Majadleh himself incurred considerable criticism from 
colleagues, both Arab and Jew, for his willingness to join a 
government that includes the anti-Arab Yisrael Beiteinu party, led 
by Avigdor Lieberman.  End Summary. 
 
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MAJADLEH'S BIG CHANCE 
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¶2.  (SBU) A former businessman and local labor union official, 
Ghaleb Majadleh first entered national politics as a Labor member of 
the 16th Knesset in 2004 and soon gained a degree of prominence as 
chairperson of the influential Interior Committee, at a time when 
Arab public support for the Labor party was dwindling. While party 
leader Amir Peretz' fortunes appeared to be on the rise, Labor made 
no move to curry favor with the Arab sector. In the aftermath of the 
Lebanon war, however, the prospect of Peretz winning the Labor 
primaries for a second time dimmed and the "Arab card" gained 
currency.  A politically weakened Peretz began looking for a Muslim 
ministerial candidate to bolster Labor's image with the Arab 
electorate ahead of Labor's May 2007 leadership primaries. 
 
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SOME MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS... 
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¶3.  (U)  In January, Peretz picked Majadleh to replace Labor MK Ofer 
Pines-Paz, who resigned from the cabinet in protest over PM Olmert's 
inclusion of Yisrael Beiteinu in the governing coalition. 
Pines-Paz, a staunch advocate of equal opportunity for minorities 
and Peretz's rival for party leadership, claimed Peretz was 
cynically exploiting Majadleh to ensure his re-election in the May 
primaries. Pines-Paz has also been critical of Majadleh, who had 
been vocal in demanding that Labor quit the government when Yisrael 
Beiteinu joined the coalition in November.  At the time, Majadleh 
went on record saying that Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman 
"wants a Jewish country with no Arabs, so we cannot legitimize him 
by sitting with him." But when the ministerial post was offered by 
Peretz, Majadleh performed reversed himself, arguing, "My 
appointment is an important precedent-setting step toward 
integrating the million Arabs in this country... Many have talked 
about equality but Peretz is the first to really take a step to 
bring it about..." 
 
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KEEP THE OPPOSITION WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT 
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¶4.  (SBU) Amid the hue and cry over the perceived cynicism of the 
Peretz "maneuver" in picking Majadleh for the vacant ministerial 
portfolio and the failure of many Arab and Jewish politicians to 
grasp why Majadleh would agree to sit in the same government with 
Lieberman, it appears that few are crediting the new minister with 
the political savvy that has brought him this far.  Of 24 current 
cabinet ministers, only Avigdor Lieberman voted against Majadleh's 
appointment.  The Knesset confirmation vote was also decisively in 
favor (59 to 23 with 2 abstentions). Several Arab MKs, who were 
determined in their opposition to Majadleh's appointment, were 
nevertheless among the first to congratulate him, reflecting the 
complicated views Arab politicians hold of their participation in 
the government. 
 
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WITH HIS EYES ON THE PRIZE 
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¶5.  (SBU) The lack of opportunity afforded to Arab politicians to 
exercise their skills at the government level may well have misled 
the pundits into underestimating just how adept they may prove to be 
if given the chance to "work the system." The first indications of 
Ghaleb Majadleh's expertise have already surfaced in a report that 
his swearing-in as a government minister coincided with the 
registration of some five thousand new Labor party members from the 
Arab sector.  Questioned about the flurry of voter registration, 
Majadleh insisted that there was nothing irregular about it: "We 
want to be the largest section in the Labor party and influence the 
election of the party chairman," he told the mass-circulation 
newspaper Ma'ariv. 
 
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RAMON CONVICTION MAY DELAY CABINET RESHUFFLE 
 
TEL AVIV 00000351  002 OF 002 
 
 
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¶6.   (U) Majadleh remains a contender for the post of Minister of 
Science, Culture and Sport that he seeks -- the same ministry 
relinquished by Ofer Pines-Paz (and currently held by Education 
Minister Yuli Tamir) -- but this is also the same post that 
Lieberman wants for his Yisrael Beiteinu Party.  While Majadleh has 
secured a seat at the cabinet table, the work on securing a ministry 
has just begun.  Many observers had predicted that if former Kadima 
Justice Minister Chaim Ramon had been acquitted, PM Olmert would 
have used that occasion to reintegrate Ramon in the government and 
reshuffle other portfolios in the process.   With the January 31 
conviction of Ramon for "indecent acts," however, Olmert's incentive 
to reshuffle his cabinet has diminished. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Bio Note:  Majadleh hails from Baka el-Gharbia, an Israeli 
Arab town that borders the West Bank.  It just happens to be one of 
the towns that Lieberman contemplates cutting off from Israel and 
including within a future Palestinian state.  Majadleh is at home 
speaking Arabic and Hebrew, and speaks basic English as well.  Like 
his Labor Party leader, Amir Peretz, Majadleh worked for the 
Histadrut labor union; both ministers graduated from high school, 
but do not have university degrees.  Majadleh regularly complains to 
Embassy officers that more U.S. assistance to Israel should be 
channeled to the Arab minority population that represents his own 
political base. 
 
JONES