At a gathering of European Union officials in Brussels last month, diplomats cornered Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, telling him “You really need to solve your conflict with the Palestinians. We’re sick and tired of it.”
Ayalon replied, “You’re sick and tired of it?”
That was one of several tales Ayalon told at a morning briefing held March 31 in the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation conference room. The event was sponsored by the federation, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Community Relations Council, in cooperation with the Consulate General of Israel.
The room was packed with Bay Area Jewish community leaders, and not because of the complimentary bagels and cream cheese.
Local leaders came to hear Ayalon’s take on recent political developments in the Middle East, especially the revolutions in the Arab world and how they might impact Israel.
Ayalon belongs to the right-of-center Yisrael Beiteinu Party, which has drawn heat for launching several controversial initiatives, among them a bill to require citizens to take a loyalty oath and another that would have impacted Jewish conversion regulations.
Yet his thoughts on relations with the Palestinians and neighboring Arab countries, rather than domestic politics, dominated his remarks and the questions that followed.
“To call it is a sea change is an understatement,” Ayalon said of the popular revolts sweeping many Arab nations. “But I am optimistic. There is a great opportunity here, though we are quiet about the changes in the region. We cannot do much — we are mere spectators.”
He expressed hope that reformers and modernizers will emerge victorious in Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and elsewhere in the restive Arab world. In that setting, Israel could “show a strong vision of civil society.”
Such a scenario could derail should Islamic extremists, especially those from Iran, succeed in exploiting regional unrest. Ayalon said Israeli intelligence has already determined Iranian agents are now in countries such as Egypt and Bahrain.
“We must cripple the capacity of Iran to expand and undermine the architecture of the region,” Ayalon said. “The ayatollahs want a Middle East that belongs in the 14th century, and we can’t allow it.”
As for Israel’s ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, Ayalon says it’s overrated as the region’s main destabilizer, noting that “99 percent of casualties [to Muslims] were caused by other Muslims.”
But he did stress that Israel longs to resolve the conflict, both as a strategic choice and as a moral obligation. “If we can’t reach a comprehensive peace that deals with core issues, we should go for second best,” he added, meaning some sort of temporary arrangement that allows both societies to function as normally as possible.
During a follow-up Q&A, Ayalon conceded that Jewish settlements in the West Bank are Israel’s “soft underbelly” in terms of public relations, but he stressed that the issue had never been a negotiations dealbreaker until recently.
He also blasted continued incitement in Palestinian schools and media, saying that Palestinian leaders had never prepared their people for peace and accommodation, as had Israel.
He did answer one question about Israeli domestic politics. Former federation CEO Brian Lurie pointedly asked Ayalon why his party has sponsored numerous Knesset bills and proposals that are “anti-democratic” and “single out Israeli Arabs.”
Ayalon denied this was true, comparing his party’s loyalty oath proposal to the American Pledge of Allegiance or the oath that members of Congress take upon being sworn in.
“I like Yisrael Beiteinu because it’s the most American-oriented party,” he said. “We offer much-needed political reform.”