Tzipi Livni, Israel’s former foreign minister and now head of the Kadima opposition party, unexpectedly faced a sharp critique of Israeli policies at large party Sunday, after laying out her country’s options in a lengthy talk.
In a before-dinner address to some 150 guests at the Beverly Hills home of Parvis and Pouran Nazarian, Livni had explained the need for a two-state solution and certain concessions to Palestinians, if Israel were to function in the long run as a democratic state with a Jewish majority.
In a Q-and-A session after dinner, Dina Leeds, vice president of the Israel-Christian Nexus, delivered a five-minute dissent, charging that the Israeli government was giving away land rightfully belonging to the Jewish people, in return for empty promises from Palestinians.
In an interview later, Leeds described her remarks as having been polite and civil, but Dora Kadisha and several guests said they considered Leeds’ tone harsh and rude.
Kadisha is the executive director of the Citizen Empowerment Center in Israel (CECI), which hosted the event.
Livni, both of whose parents were leaders in the underground Irgun movement, while she herself served as a Mossad agent and was a close ally of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was visibly upset.
According to Leeds and several guests, Livni sharply responded that she resented such advice from people who sit in cushioned homes in Beverly Hills. Kadisha said she did not hear such a remark from Livni.
CECI, initiated by the Nazarians, seeks to educate Israel’s citizens that a drastic change is needed in the country’s electoral system of proportional representation, in which voters cast ballots for national parties rather than for local representatives.
This system, says CECI and many Israel analysts, has led to constant instability in the country’s leadership, with continuous rotation of prime ministers and cabinet members.
Livni endorsed CECI’s aims by noting that “Our system prevents good ministers from making long-range decisions.
Citing her own record of holding half a dozen ministerial portfolios, Livni said that by the time cabinet members have some grasp of their responsibilities, they move on to another post.
