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Tzipi Livni: Israel Got Next
By Roi Ben-Yehuda / June 23, 2008
The historian J. Rufus Fears noted that great leaders – from Pericles to Lincoln to Churchill – share four characteristics. They are anchored in principles, guided by a moral compass, posses a vision, and have the ability to build consensus to achieve their vision. These are the qualities that differentiate them as statesmen rather than mere politicians.
Unfortunately, the current leadership in Israel is the epitome of mere politicians. Prime-Minister Olmert, for example, is a drunken captain at the helm of a ship headed for an iceberg. An uninspiring power-hungry man mired in corruption and lacking vision, he is leading his country into disaster.
The truth is that people matter. For good or ill, individuals can change the course of history. Recently, the United States has seen what remarkable change the right person can achieve. A tall African-American man did what most thought impossible. No, I am not talking about Barack Obama, but Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett.
The NBA star turned around a team that had been in the basement of the league for
years, whose uniformly awful under-performances of its talent led some fans to believe the team was cursed. But in just one season, Garnett led the Celtics to a championship via the biggest turnaround in league history. How did he do it? With skills, passion, tenacity, determination, and teamwork. In short, he was a true leader, the sort of individual whose rarity underscores their potential to overcome obstacles that had been thought insuperable.
As strange as it may sound, Kevin Garnett gives me hope that the Arab-Israeli conflict can be solved. But the question is, who is going to be our Kevin Garnett? As things stands today, my money is on Tzipi Livni.
While Livni and I are far from ideological soul mates, her tremendous potential is obvious. A woman who embodies the characteristics of the type of leadership that Israel needs, she is honest, sharp as whip, empathic towards her enemies, has a clear vision for Israel’s future, and has shown the ability to build a consensus to achieve her vision. (For example, in 2005 it was Livni who managed to persuade the divided Israeli parliament to ratify Ariel Sharon's controversial plan to withdraw Israel's settlements from Gaza.)
But Livni's most impressive quality is that she is willing to learn and evolve. Not in the selfish service of staying in power, but in the selfless service of her vision of Israel as a democratic and Jewish state. And to that end, she has the courage to do what she thinks is right even if it means alienating those who are close to her.
Remember, this is a woman who came from a hardcore right-wing family – her father, former member of Irgun and leader in the Likkud Party, has the map of greater Israel engraved on his tombstone – and who now after realizing the futility and danger of annexing historic Israel has dedicated her political career to creating Jewish and Palestinian states.
The former "Herut princess" undoubtedly has set her father spinning in his grave. But that is exactly what we need. Leaders who have the courage to spin the dead for the sake of the living. Even if it means going against the ones they love most. Like Abraham of old, Livni has smashed the idols of her father's home.
Some people have second-guessed Livni’s political prowess — especially after, in light of the Winograd report, she called on Olmert to resign but refused to leave her post in protest. Others have cast doubt on Livni as Prime Minister material due to her lack of known security credentials (it is hard to turn classified service in the Mossad into political advantage).
Much of the criticism leveled at her has a clear sexist overtone, effectively boiling down to: "Livni lacks the testicular fortitude to lead a country like Israel. With threats from Hamas, Hizballah, and Iran we simply cannot leave it all to a woman. Tough times call for manly men (i.e. Netanyahu/Mofaz/Barak). Yes there was Golda but she didn't really count. After all, as Ben-Gurion once remarked, Golda was the only man in his cabinet."
In a similar vein, talking about Livni, a friend of mine once said that Israel can never elect or accept a leader that blinks. I hope he is wrong, because again, that is exactly what we need. Not the My Pet Goat type of blinking, but the type that breaks the reflexive and destructive pattern of unthinking stimulus-response that has characterized Israeli leadership. We need a leader that blinks twice, ten times, a hundred times, before sending off children to kill and die in a war. A leader that in between those blinks thinks about the long-term consequence of their actions – for us and for our enemies.
As I said, Kevin Garnett's leadership of the Celtics gives me hope that the Arab-Israeli conflict can be solved. I didn't mean it glibly. He didn't, and couldn't have brought about his team's epic turnaround single-handedly; rather, he did it by making those around him better. He did it by taking to heart the African concept of Ubuntu, which illustrates how our individual success is bound up with the success of those around us. (Literally: 'Ubuntu' was the 2008 Celtics motto.) Perhaps in the end the ability to inspire excellence from others is the true mark of a great leader.
The challenges of the state Livni is likely to soon assume control of, unlike the challenges of Garnett's league, are anything but a game. The lives of millions of people, present and future, depend on Israel's next premier being a statesperson rather than a mere politician. Given the opportunity to lead, Livni would have to inspire excellence not only from her fellow Knesset members, but also from her Palestinian interlocutors. Which is not a low bar to clear, to say the least.
Abraham Lincoln said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." To what degree Livni can rise to the challenge remains to be seen, but she is a talent more prodigious than any her country has been blessed with in a long time, and she turned up at just the time her country needed such a talent.
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All I want to say about Livni for now is that I find it interesting that in the American mainstream she's considered centrist. At least Time did in its recent profile story. It adds in passing that she was in the Mossad and her parents were in the Irgun. Damn! That's some wacky centrism.
The Muslim occupiers can go back to their capitol of Mecca, JERUSALEM IS OURS FOREVER!
Wow, bravo, looks like you are an Islam expert, got all the facts, but oops sorry all the wrong and misconceived ones. For one thing, Islam does undermine the legitimacy of Judainity and Christism. They are and always will be regarded as religions originally from Allah. Allah wouldn't bother mention them so exhaustively in His Book if it wasn't so. Mecca is the single most important city for the Muslims and Muslimas but it has as a capital of the Ummah only briefly. The reason why Jerusalem was not a politacal center at those times is because people did not want to blemish its holiness by politicizing a city equally important to all Abrahamic faiths. I won't go into other points of yours but believe me your argumeents are very well-versed but easily defeatable. You are so right about one thing though: never will the Muslims give up Jerusalem. NEVER.
Um, the M. Kedar "comment" is an excerpt from one of his books, yanked out of context, and posted here by some random passerby. It's certainly not an original comment posted by said professor himself, nor a comment made in response to anything in Roi's article.
Zeev: You write: "The woman's been in the background for so long no one knows what she stands for. Until she expresses her opinions she remains little more than a doorstop."
Contrary to what you say, Livni has articulated her vision many times. Here is an example from an interview in haaretz: "The vision is of the State of Israel as a national home for the Jewish people, which provides a solution for the problem of the Jewish refugees, and provides a national expression for each and every Jew, and alongside it a Palestinian state that is the national home of the Palestinian nation, which provides a full and complete solution for the problem of the Palestinian refugees, and provides a national expression for each and every Palestinian."
By the same token, one may also argue that all what you have stated is myth that we can't buy? Your talk on Al-Jazeerah was ignorance of the other. .
Exactly what has Livni done to deserve praise? Or for that matter, condemnation? The woman's been in the background for so long no one knows what she stands for. Until she expresses her opinions she remains little more than a doorstop.
Anon: Can you please explain why you think Dr Kedar comment was beautiful or relevant to this article?
but I remain a bit skeptical.
BTW – while trying to avoid the icebergs, Olmert is conducting 4 negotiations in parallel. Unheard of in Israeli history.
Hell, why not just ask Garnett to be prime minister of Israel? The U.S., hopefully, will have Obama in charge and Israel can be Garnett's. As "brothers" they'll have each other's back – know what I'm sayin'? – so, Jews will no longer have to worry about Obama's secret agenda regarding Israel. It's perfect.
Roi writes: "Given the opportunity to lead, Livni would have to inspire excellence not only from her fellow Knesset members, but also from her Palestinian interlocutors. Which is not a low bar to clear, to say the least."
That would be like asking Garnett to inspire greatness from Kwame Brown. Never going to happen.
Roi,
This is another interesting article in a long line of original thinking that you have shown us over the last several months. Though I do not always agree with what you say, I enjoy your style and refreshing approach, and to compare Livni to Garnett is nothing short of brilliant! But you miss one very important thing. Garnett has by his side what no Israeli politician does, "The Truth". Think bout it :)
Livni looks like a Bulgarian Bullfrog!
Livni is the queen of appeasement. Her past performances, most notably the Lebanon War, were a complete failure. She is totally unqualified to handle the position as a leader in any sense, and in a situation with war, her decision making would be worse than Olmert. She is also a joke to the Arab nations that see her as utterly weak.
With the near future war with Iran imminent, Bibi is the only one that can steer Israel to a victory!
Enough of these inept selfish leftists running this country…..no more surrender!
Nice article. I had to say that Livni does look kind of hot in that picture. Perhaps a Maxim spread is in order.
Why would you trust someone who had convinced the Israeli government to get out of Gaza? Look how that turned out! Now she wants to leave the West Bank? Livni does not learn from her mistakes.
Well… I’d totally agree that Livni is smart, honest, and sharp. But on the other side I’d disagree that she can be a leader who would bring new peace contributions to the table.And Roi, I’m wondering why you refer to Palestinians as “enemies”. I find it strange that someone talking about peace refers to the other side as “the enemy”!
Original article.
But I do not agree with the selection of Livni pic.
She looks like a pussycat instead of a lioness
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