First Arab In Israeli Cabinet Says He Will Work To "Temper" Hardliners
JERUSALEM, March 3 (News Agencies) - The first Arab to serve in an Israeli cabinet said Saturday he will travel to Gaza City to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and will work to "temper" Israeli hardliners.
"I promised [Arafat] that I would go and do all I can to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in the territories," Salah Tarif, the designated minister without portfolio, told Israeli television.
Tarif said he would work to "temper" hawkish Defense Minister-designate Binyamin Ben Eliezer by doing "everything so that [he] also understands the other side, its problems, alongside his efforts to assure [Israelis'] security."
He added that he plans to tell hardline Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon "to act differently."
Tarif is set to become the first Arab to serve as a cabinet minister since the Jewish state's 1948 creation, after members of his Labor party chose him as one of its eight ministers in the national unity government led by Sharon.
A Tarif spokesman said earlier that Arafat had telephoned Tarif to congratulate him and invite him to Gaza City.
Tarif also received congratulations from the embassies of Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab countries to have signed peace treaties with Israel, the spokesman said.
After his selection Friday, Tarif said he was "surprised and filled with emotion. This is a historic moment, as this isn't a nomination or a gift but an election."
"I'll do all I can to represent the Arab minority with dignity and to advance policies that promote equality in rights for all citizens," he said.
Tarif is a member of Israel's 80,000-strong Druze community who, unlike other Israeli Arabs, serve in the army.
A former parachutist commander, Tarif was president of the student body at Haifa University and entered politics by becoming mayor of his hometown, the Druze village of Julis.
