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THE HARDEST-WORKING MAN IN LABOR
by Gil Hoffman and Hilary Leila Krieger, Jerusalem Post, Feb. 8, 2005
Don't let Interior Minister Ophir Paz-Pines's age fool you. He is only 43 years old in a country that seems to value experience over youthful enthusiasm, but if you total up his work hours since he joined the Knesset in 1996, he may be just as seasoned as his colleagues.
Paz-Pines earned his victory in the Labor Party's December 23 ministerial race and skipped a generation in the party's political pecking order, to a large degree, simply by working harder and longer hours than anyone else.
It is no wonder that Paz-Pines has gained a reputation for overworking his parliamentary aides and has had to replace his staff every few months. One of his former assistants calls him an "extreme workaholic" and says he likes to talk about maximizing the quality of his time.
"He works very hard from morning until night and he expects his aides to work around the clock and keep up," the former aide says. "He works until 10 o'clock at night and then goes to a bar mitzva of a Labor central committee member. He doesn't have much of a life."
Working his way up from the Hebrew University student union to the Jewish Agency, the Labor Party, the Knesset and now to the cabinet, Paz-Pines has managed to squeeze the potential out of every job he's had and then move forward. He has also learned how to maneuver within the limits of political realities.
At the Interior Ministry, Paz-Pines is like a kid in a candy store with only a small amount of pocket money. He is in charge of many of his pet issues – such as religious pluralism, disadvantaged immigrants and social equality – but he acknowledges the bounds of coalition discipline.
"It's no secret I support pluralism for the Jewish people; the question is how can I implement it," says Paz-Pines. "I know what I can't do and I am still learning what I can. I can't change the rules in the present coalition, which was built for disengagement, not to allow non-Orthodox conversions. I have to be realistic and practical."
When asked what he would do as interior minister were he freed from Orthodox MKs' coalition constraints, he says, "I don't answer those kinds of questions. I am too experienced to fall for that."
Unlike most of the leaders of his party, Paz-Pines is a career politician. He never advanced beyond the rank of sergeant in the IDF, and every job he has held has been either a political appointment or an elected position.
Born on July 11, 1961, in Rishon Lezion, Paz-Pines moved to Jerusalem 21 years later to attend the Hebrew University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in international relations. He became active in student politics and ran unsuccessfully for the chairmanship of the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS).
Straight out of college, the 26-year-old was appointed deputy director-general of the Jewish Agency's Immigration and Absorption Department, where he oversaw the airlift of Ethiopian immigrants in Operation Solomon. Looking back fondly on his days in the agency, Paz-Pines says he wishes he could bring all the remaining Falash Mura to Israel immediately.
"If I were prime minister, I would bring them all in one night," he says, indulging in a rare drift from political reality.
Paz-Pines twice turned down opportunities to serve as an emissary in the United States – first in Los Angeles and then in New York – for both personal and professional reasons.
When he thought he was going to America, he adopted the name Paz (golden) because of the liability posed by his last name in English, pronounced with the vowels exchanged. But he has never abandoned the name Pines out of respect for his Dutch-born father, Yehuda Pines, who survived the Holocaust and is alive and well.
Paz-Pines built connections in Labor's Jerusalem branch, and ran unsuccessfully for the Knesset in 1992 before getting elected in 1996 at the age of 34. From the moment he entered the Knesset, he has never stopped working. In the 15th Knesset, when he was chairman of Ehud Barak's coalition, Paz-Pines served on an astonishing 12 Knesset committees, while struggling to hold together mismatched coalition partners Meretz and Shas.
After surviving that challenge, he became chairman of the Knesset Law Committee, declining to seek a ministerial post in Sharon's first national-unity government. He then became Labor's secretary-general and helped the party rebuild financially from the debts and the damage that Barak had left behind.
Much like his current cabinet position, which he knows can last until no later than October 2006, Paz-Pines entered each post for a limited time yet found a way to make waves. Meanwhile, he managed to get more laws passed than any other MK almost every year.
"He is absolutely a model MK," says Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who sparred with him as opposition whip when Paz-Pines was coalition chairman. "He works hard and makes noise, but he succeeds and leaves behind a visible track record of accomplishments."
Rivlin says Paz-Pines has played the political game smartly by never joining a political camp within his party after the death of Yitzhak Rabin.
"He didn't want to be subject to anyone," Rivlin says. "He always wanted to be a star on his own and he succeeded. I always said he would go far. It came earlier than he thought but not earlier than I thought."
Paz-Pines even scores political points where his leisure-time habits are concerned, playing soccer with other MKs. He also makes it a priority once a week to play handball, a sport at which he truly excels.
The athletic Paz-Pines bested Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to finish first in a pre-Valentine's Day survey, conducted by Geocartography, which asked ladies to select the MK with whom they would most like to spend a romantic evening.
Presumably to the chagrin of the women who voted for him, Paz-Pines already has a wife, Orly, and two teenage children, who have supported his political career despite his long hours.
Before their recent move to Ra'anana, the family regularly attended services at Jerusalem's Kehilat Ya'ar Ramot Conservative synagogue. Conservative Movement leaders, excited to see one of their own achieve such an influential post, have invited him to serve as keynote speaker at their upcoming international convention in Texas.
The trip will be a rarity for Paz-Pines, who says that he has to remain in the country now that he is interior minister. He recalls fondly the many international parliamentary conventions he attended when he was just a Knesset member.
"As an MK I got to have fun and see the world," he reminisces. "Now that I am a minister, I won't be able to have any fun anymore."
Paz-Pines on disengagement:
"I think it's still premature to assume that disengagement will happen. The word has a sterile connotation, but it is a very dramatic process and much still has to happen, including government decisions on whether it will happen in stages or in one fell swoop. Many dramas can still happen. There is a large population that intends to struggle against it with civil disobedience, violence and even civil war.
“Also there's a difference between unilateral disengagement, which would be wrong under the current circumstances after Arafat's death, and disengagement coordinated with Abu Mazen [PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas], which we don't know how would be implemented. Obviously we do not want it to be under fire, with the PA taking responsibility for protecting Palestinians and Israelis.
“We shouldn't hesitate on disengagement. We have to be determined but compassionate to the settlers who will have to move their families and overcome both child and parental trauma. We need determination and compassion. The public has to realize how difficult this will be, and the silent majority that supports disengagement must wake up."
On after disengagement:
"Labor believes disengagement must be the first step. The continuation can be the road map. It can be the Clinton plan. I am also not against the Geneva agreement, which calls for a final-status agreement. I welcomed the initiative, but I disagree with even partial right of return and I think the Palestinians will give it up for a real state if the leadership has mutual trust. Now the Mukata refugees have said they would give up violence, and the price of weapons in the West Bank is down.
“If we went to a final-status solution, I think the Palestinians wouldn't insist on the right of return. Only [Sari] Nusseibeh says it now; the rest will later. But the Likud is so divided that I don't think that even if Abu Mazen proves himself and disengagement happens, the Likud will be able to push forward after that. Sharon won't be able to continue diplomatically in Judea and Samaria before elections. This is the political reality, so I think there will eventually be elections. But there are always surprises in Israeli politics."
On confidence-building measures:
"We should strengthen security coordination and ensure the success of the Sharon-Abu Mazen summit. I don't know if releasing prisoners is the best way. We should first help the general public by removing roadblocks, easing the closures, handing over cities and helping the quality of life of ordinary Palestinians. The real test of Abu Mazen is not whether Hamas likes him, it's whether the Palestinian public sees a change in their lives."
On the Gaza Coast Regional Council:
"We won't cancel the council, but it has to cooperate with the government and give us necessary information on population, property, taxes and other technical things. I sent a messenger to get the information. We are also trying to get info on how anti-disengagement protests and other activities are funded. If we had a pro-disengagement rally, they won't let me fund it from the Petah Tikva and Kfar Saba budgets. They think they can use local council funds, but it's against the law.
“The Supreme Court said in a decision about the Golan that only councils affected by the issue can use such money. We appointed an investigative accountant. We will get the results of the investigation quickly. The large demonstration in Jerusalem last week sharpened the need because so much funding went into it. Two-thirds of the councils didn't respond to our letter on it, but some admitted that they gave funding to the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip."
On aliya:
"I am fully committed to it. I feel Israel is the state of the Jewish people, not just a Jewish, democratic state. Ideally, people should make aliya, but there are other ways to help Israel: in Diaspora communities and via AIPAC, the Jewish Agency, etc."
On pluralism:
"It's no secret I support pluralism for the Jewish people. The question is how I can implement it in my current position. I ask myself on a daily basis. I know what I can't do and I am still learning what I can. I can't change the rules in the present coalition, which was built for disengagement, not to allow non-Orthodox conversions. I have to be realistic and practical.
Even if the United Torah Judaism Party weren't there, the Likud wouldn't allow it. But we can help the different streams [of Judaism]. Next month I will be the keynote speaker in the Conservative Movement convention in Texas.
“The first group I met in office was the Progressives. I will try to change their status and help with bureaucracy. I need to change the non-equal treatment. Even if you can't change the rules, you can change the treatment. They don't need to get special treatment, but they will not be discriminated against."
On the Falash Mura:
"The previous decision to bring over 300 per month and then to reassess the numbers a year later was taken a year ago. The pacing was understandable because some ministers were in disagreement about the issue at the time. I have a lot of experience with Ethiopian Jews and I think that bringing them here has to be done as quickly as possible, to spare them the suffering. This process of attrition makes no sense. If I can say yes, I should, and if not I should say no. I shouldn't just say wait.
But money is involved because absorption is expensive. I don't know why they have to undergo conversions a year and a half after arriving and only then citizenship. I say give the citizenship automatically and then only a year of conversion classes. But the Finance Ministry must provide funding to absorb these people in the center of the country. The outlying areas are collapsing under the weight of the absorption. If I were prime minister, I would have brought them all in one day, as I did in Operation Solomon, but then they were in danger."
On the children of foreign workers:
"I want to move forward, as does Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz and the prime minister, but we need to obtain the government's support. I will advance it, though I'm not yet sure how. Kids of foreign workers need citizenship. You can't expel children who are in Israeli schools. It's a scandal how foreign workers have been treated.
“I met with [Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Ehud] Olmert who sets the limits on foreign workers and I have two meetings next week with the immigration police to make sure they treat the workers in a humanitarian way. They shouldn't be in jail, but if they don't have permits, they shouldn't be in Israel. There should be fewer allowed in every year, but I don't know by how much. We need to be human. I will insist on it and will deal with it in clear manner."
On Shimon Peres:
"To ask Peres to step aside is a waste of time because it's doomed to failure. There is no point in saying it. [Labor faction chair] Eitan Cabel can say it, [former Labor MK Avraham] Burg said it, but I won't. If I were Peres's age, I wouldn't run. But no one is like Peres. Our group of young Labor leaders will decide together who we will support in the leadership race. It's too early to say, but we will endorse one man. I want whomever we back to succeed. But February is too early to decide for elections in June."
On his name:
"I took the name Paz when I was going to go to America as an emissary and then I added it here. I haven't decided yet how to be introduced at the Conservative convention. Personally, I would have changed my name a long time ago, but I owe a debt to my family who went through the Holocaust, and my father, Yehuda Pines, who was the only survivor."
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