NEW YORK -- The Jan. 28 elections in Israel offer voters a clear choice: either they choose to continue with policies that have only brought increased violence and misery to their country, or they can take the bold step of choosing a candidate with risky but novel ideas on how to deal with the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians.
The elections came about because both the Likud and the Labor parties failed to agree on allocations to Jewish settlements. While Prime Minister Ariel Sharon easily won the leadership contest for Likud, former Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer lost the Labor contest to Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna, who won with 60 percent of the vote. During his 10 years as mayor of Haifa, Mitzna has shown true respect for Jewish-Arab relations and great concern for social and economic issues.
The shrinking pool of Labor voters is making it difficult for Mitzna to mount a serious challenge to Sharon. But he offers a genuine alternative to the present situation of unrelenting violence between Jews and Palestinians.