Defense Minister and Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz and his close associates within the party said Saturday night that if the appointment of an Arab Labor MK as science, culture and sport minister is not brought before the cabinet for approval next week, they will consider resigning from the coalition.

Over the weekend, after realizing that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would not put Majadele's appointment on the agenda for Sunday's cabinet meeting, Peretz consulted his associates and decided to issue an ultimatum. Party whip Yoram Marciano said that Labor lawmakers will meet to decide on the matter tomorrow.

Although Peretz associates painted the threat as coming from a majority of the party's ministers and Knesset members, it appears that most were not involved in theconsultations and heard about the "Labor Party ultimatum" only from the press.

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Nonetheless, several, including Labor Secretary General Eitan Cabel, said over the weekend that Olmert cannot delay the appointment for very long, and that a lengthy delay would definitely violate the coalition agreement.

Given the preexisting tensions between Peretz and Olmert and the discord surrounding the appointment of a new chief of staff, a delay of more than one week in approving the Majadele appointment might well generate a real coalition crisis.

In response, associates of the prime minister called Peretz's ultimatum "unnecessary," adding that Peretz is aware of both the urgent matters on the agenda, like appointing a new Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, and the other changes that Olmert plans in the cabinet, which he wants to submit all at once. However, they did not commit to a timeline.

Cabinet Secretary Israel Maimon, commenting Saturday on Channel 2 television's "Meet the Press," said: "Last week, we were surprised by the bombshell resignation of the chief of staff, and the public expects the prime minister and defense minister to handle that appointment first."

Peretz and Yisrael Beiteinu Chair Avigdor Lieberman have also traded barbs over the Majadele appointment. After Peretz associates said Thursday night at a Labor Central Committee meeting that failing to push through the appointment would constitute kowtowing to "Lieberman's racism," Lieberman got his own back in a Friday interview on Voice of Israel Radio, in which he said that Peretz's comment proves that he is "stupid and racist."

Lieberman added that he is not opposed to appointing an Arab minister, but reiterated his accusation that the circumstances prove that Peretz is using the opportunity to garner votes in his party's upcoming leadership primary.

Lieberman also said that the narrow margin by which Labor's central committee approved the appointment shows that the party is against minorities and immigrants. Labor should admit that its historic role has ended "and that it is unnecessary on the political map," he added.


The minister for strategic threats reiterated his comments from earlier this week, that every day Peretz remains as defense minister is a serious blow to national security.

In a move that may prove to rain on Labor's parade, Interior Minister Roni Bar-On (Kadima) said Friday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert might not allow a Labor Party member to fill the post.

Bar-On told Israel Radio on Friday that right-wing party Yisrael Beiteinu, which is often accused by left-wing politicians of espousing racist attitudes toward Arabs, is also eligible for another minister and might be the party to get the science, culture and sport post. If that should happen, Majadele would still be a minister, but would not have a portfolio.

Majadele said that was not good enough.

"I am confident that the prime minister will see the appointment of the first Arab minister in the State of Israel - a minister with a portfolio, with authority - as being to the benefit of the Israeli government and the entire Israeli society," Majadele told Israel Radio on Friday.

If he does get the appointment, Majadele would be replacing former Labor minister Ophir Pines-Paz, who quit some three months ago over the inclusion of Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu party to the coalition.

The Prime Minister's Office said Thursday night that the vote on Majadele's appointment was not on the agenda for Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. Majadele said he had no problem waiting for the appointment, but did have a problem with the idea that the ministerial post in question might not go to the Labor Party at all.

The central committee vote was very close, with 253 out of 488 members voting in favor of the appointment. Some 225 members voted in favor of the recommendation made by Druze party activist Shakib Shanan, No. 20 on Labor's Knesset list, to place the authority to appoint new ministers in the central committee's hands.

Peretz had in the past said he intended to appoint Shanan to the post of minister, but ultimately chose Majadele.

Labor's chairman addressed the central committee on Thursday and asked the committee members to support Majadele.

"All eyes are on the party," Peretz said. "Everyone wants to see whether we will take this opportune moment that fell into our hands and send out an important message - not only to the committee, but to all of Israel - a message of equality and peace in the Middle East."

"This is a historic event and we must not miss it. Appointing an Arab minister is our decisive response to Lieberman's racism," he added.

Peretz presented Majadele's appointment as his response to the inclusion of Lieberman in the coalition, but party members maintained that the appointment was actually a ploy to expand Peretz's support within the Arab constituency and improve his chances to win the next party primaries.

Peretz's associate MK Yoram Marziano commended the central committee's decision and said "this is a victory for Amir." He added that Peretz had managed to overcome "attempts made by the other candidates for party leadership to prevent the historic event of the appointment of an Arab minister in Israel from taking place."

At the start of the committee meeting, Shanan burst onto the stage, snatched the microphone from the hand of Labor Party Secretary-General Eitan Cabel, and demanded a secret ballot on the matter of minister appointment.

Cabel later said that Shanan's outburst was completely unnecessary, since the decision to vote in a secret ballot had already been made.