New Candidate for Israeli Premier Seems to Energize the Left
Last Tuesday the 57-year-old mayor of Haifa and former general announced that he was in the race to lead the Labor Party in the next election for prime minister.

Even by the standards of Israel's mercurial politics, in which wild swings are hardly unusual — especially in troubled times — the reactions have been striking.

A poll by one paper, Maariv, showed that if the party primary were held now, Mr. Mitzna would trounce the incumbent Labor chief, Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, by 73 percent to 13 percent.

Palestinian leaders have also made no secret of their interest. Mr. Mitzna is still far behind Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, but as Hemi Shalev, a political columnist for Maariv wrote, "He is still the first left-wing candidate in a long time to pose a threat."

If the response was surprising, his decision was not, Mr. Mitzna insisted in an interview. "This is not something I dreamed up in the night," he said. "It took more than a few months to realize that I cannot sit on the fence and wait. I couldn't go on enjoying what I'm doing while the country is in turmoil.

Two weeks ago Mr. Mitzna got off the fence and declared that he was exploring a run. On Tuesday he made the formal plunge with a statement that revived the full gamut of dovish themes that Labor had abandoned in despair after the collapse of Camp David talks and the outbreak of a new and terrible wave of violence almost two years ago.

Mr. Mitzna said he would open talks with the Palestinians without delay, with whatever leadership was in charge. He would evacuate any Jewish settlements left in Palestinian territory. He would give the Palestinians part of Jerusalem. If the Palestinians balked, he would unilaterally decide where the border between Israel and the West Bank would run.

Mr. Mitzna insists that his is not some quixotic invocation of a lost dream. "I'm not stupid," he said. "I'm not naïve. I believe we can reach an agreement with the Palestinians. I know it is possible, even after the last two years of events: the terrorism, killings, hatred.

"I know my announcement opened a lot of hearts and minds. The last two years changed people on both sides. They know that both terrorism and military power lead to nothing. It led people in this region to lose everything they had. Israel went back 10 years' development, and the Palestinians are in a miserable situation. I hope this will create on the Palestinian side some movement to resume discussions."

Mr. Mitzna credited Mr. Sharon with "fighting terrorism quite well."

"But without a political horizon," he said, "without some way to discuss, to resume negotiations, to give some hope, without someone to talk to and something to talk about, it will remain violence, terror, counterattack.

"Even if Yasir Arafat disappears, what then? What ideas does this government have to bring to the table?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/19/international/middleeast/19HAIF.html