Last update - 00:00 05/03/2008
Billboards show Green organizations they can't take Shas for granted
By Guy Leshem
Nothing less than the fate of the billboards along the Ayalon Highway was at stake a month ago, at the Knesset Economics Committee. On the one side was MK Yoram Marciano, vigorously defending his proposal. On the other were representatives of Green organizations, led by MK Dov Khenin, who had declared war on Marciano's idea. Between them scurried lobbyists, lawyers and vested interests, trying to forge a compromise, push through the law and allow these large advertisements to remain along intercity
highways. But the Greens insisted that the billboards are just another form of environmental contamination.
Aside from the Likud members- who've been decked out in green lately, metaphorically at least- and Khenin, the other parliamentarians present at the debate didn't seem too impressed by either the Greens or the government, which also opposes billboards on roadsides because they distract drivers.
Most of the Knesset members who showed up for the discussion had been dragged there by lobbyists, who didn't even bother to check the MKs position first, says one of them. Be that as it may, come the vote, the Greens lost the day and the proposal to allow billboards to return passed by a crushing majority.
The billboard companies, which had been cajoling the bewildered parliamentarians for days, weren't too surprised by the outcome. Some of the Greens were, and pointed the finger of blame at Shas' representatives on the committee.
"How can a party like Shas support a proposal that means girls in bathing suits? It's a betrayal of their voters. It smells bad," said one Green representative. Others blamed connections between the lobbyists hired by the billboard companies and top Shas personalities, claiming that was the real reason behind the bizarre outcome.
Modest ads
Nonsense, says Yakov Margi, the Shas Knesset faction chairman. "Like any topic, be it economic or environmental, our vote was substantive and based on the rabbis' directives," he says.
"The Greens can fume all they want, but they should learn the facts first. We have an agreement with two big advertisers, that the ads along the Ayalon will be modest and the achievement from my perspective is that these advertisers committed to taking down content that offends our constituents from billboards in other areas."
He says he showed the agreement to the rabbis: they approved, and applauded his efforts. "I support regulating advertisement so it doesn't offend anybody, or damage the environment either. I think it would be best to have no advertisements at all, not even in the cities, but that isn't about to happen," Margi adds.
As for the Greens, they now realize that they have to take Shas into account when campaigning in the Knesset. At least they can't take the religious party for granted.
Margi's vote in the committee surprised some of the Green leaders, who fondly remember his struggle against the "Safadi program" - an initiative to build new neighborhoods for Jerusalem on open land west of the city. Together with his Shas colleagues and members of other parties, Margi fought the plan at the political level, alongside a Green coalition that led the battle.
"We had the impression that we'd gained an ambassador for Green affairs in a community that had been oblivious to such issues," says one of the anti-Safadi leaders, adding that now, it looks like it had been a cynical manipulation to get headlines.
Margi says that if anybody was exploited, it was him and his party. "When the plan was explained to me, I grasped that it was a disaster," he says. He lives in Be'er Sheva and feels that the development of new neighborhoods there left the city center neglected.
"Once I understood that Jerusalem had a lot of areas that could be developed without ruining the beautiful mountains, I joined the effort full-force and stood at the forefront. I think my contribution was as great as that of the Greens."
Vested interests
The Greens are also frustrated by Shas' refusal to oppose the concept of moving Israel Defense Forces training bases to southern Israel. Opponents of the move claim that the chosen site will poison the soldiers and local residents working there. The government and the local Negev authority love the idea.
"We expected Shas to cry the cry of the local population that will be hurt by the pollution from the factories by Ramat Hovav," says one Green member. "We discovered that just as in the issue of the Ayalon billboards, the party has no problem working against the interests of its voters, based on political alliances," says a Green source, adding that he hopes Shas changes its mind.
"They certainly lost us," Margi rebuts, "but in this case the vested interests are theirs, not Shas'. I know the area and know how badly the residents need the economic push that the establishment of the base would create. Environmentally, too, I think that the Greens' battle is hurting the residents. Massive army presence would stop the pollution from continuing.
"I suspect that vested interests from the center, worried about losing their livelihood if the army moves its training bases, are manipulating the Greens. I think their viewpoint is highly selective and they elect to care for the environment more than people. You won't find behavior like that with me."
Three months ago TheMarker reported another possible reason for the Shas positions on at least one Green issue. Yehuda Avidan, formerly a close aide of party chairman Aryeh Deri, and who remains influential in the party, makes a living from lobbying, thanks in no small part to his contacts accrued during his years in politics.
The problem is that Avidan participates in Shas faction meetings at the Knesset, as a strategic adviser. He advises Shas members on how to vote on the issues of the day. Avidan insists that he stringently distinguishes between his roles and his work is fully transparent to the Knesset members and to his clients.
One of said clients is the plastic-bottles recycling company Elah, whose mandate the Greens want to expand. Elah says the law is not working and that bottle collection has fallen into criminal hands.
When the law requiring beverage makers to collect and recycle bottles was passed five years ago, it ruled that Elah would collect bottles of one liter or less, and a promise was made that the law would be amended in the future to cover 1.5-liter bottles too. That's a nightmare for the drinks companies and Elah, which would have to retool its plant. Hence the hiring of Avidan to fight the amendment.
During the previous Knesset, Avidan was seen whispering to a Shas member during an Economics Committee meeting. Said member became a fierce opponent of the law. Since then he's left politics and criticism of lobbyists has stopped Avidan from sitting next to Knesset members during debates. But his messages may be filtering through: Shas remains strongly opposed to expanding the law.
"Again our opposition is substantive and I say that with full responsibility," says Margi. "In contrast to media reports, we are prepared to expand the law and apply it to large bottles, but the method has to be changed. Elah and the deposit on bottles, which is just another tax, should be abolished, and collection transferred to schools. That
would be educational and the criminals would lose a source of money. I'd be first in line to lead that. "I couldn't care less who works with who. We represent large families that would turn into sources of money for criminals if the law is changed as the Greens demand." Margi also complains that the Greens are ignoring previous Shas support for
their initiatives: "Keep things in proportion," he advises. "This isn't religion and the state, though they're important issues. Generally speaking we support environmental issues and preventing pollution. But we will not have it turned it into idol worship."