Mikheil Saakashvili Comes into His Own in Israel
// Georgian Leader Compares Vladimir Putin with Empress Catherine I
Yesterday Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili completed his visit to Israel. The Georgian leader met with all of the senior officials in the Israeli government and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa. In his acceptance speech Mr. Saakashvili called Georgians "the Jews of our time" and compared Russian President Vladimir Putin's anti-Georgian policies to the anti-Semitic campaigns of Russian Empress Catherine I.
The first scandal surrounding Mr. Saakashvili's visit to Israel blew up even before his departure. News of the Georgian president's upcoming visit became public two weeks ago during Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit to Moscow. At that time, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that Israel's intention to receive Mikheil Saakashvili as a guest was met with offense in Russian diplomatic circles. "It is not so much offensive as simply incomprehensible. It is impossible to understand what Israel expects from Saakashvili. It is unclear to us why he is traveling to Israel as some sort of dear friend. Israel will get nothing from the visit. It is as if Israel were being visited by the president of Iceland," said the paper, quoting a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In order to not strain relations with Moscow, Mr. Olmert tried to downplay the significance of Mr. Saakashvili's visit. In an interview with Kommersant, he said that "the president of Georgia will be in Israel on a private visit." However, even a quick glance at the program for Mr. Saakashvili's visit to Israel belies Mr. Olmert's attempts at cunning. The Georgian president had meetings scheduled with every senior Israeli government official, including the prime minister, deputy prime minister Shimon Peres, President Moshe Katsav, and Knesset speaker Dalia Itzik, as well as a speech to give in the Knesset. Finally, Mr. Saakashvili was due to take part in an international conference entitled "Transit: Global Energy and Political Tendencies" and to receive an honorary doctorate from Haifa University. "We consider Mr. Saakashvili the Nelson Mandela of the 21st century. He symbolizes the sowing of democracy by peaceful means, and he is combating corruption," said Brand Schafer, the head of the Scientific Research Center for Energy Problems.
The Georgian leader, wearing a black and red academic gown with a cap and tassel, cut a splendid figure in his appearance at the conference. The diploma that he received said that he was being rewarded "for his contribution to the establishment of democracy in Georgia; his advancement of the ideals of justice and human rights; his administrative, economic, and education reforms; the development of relations with Israel; and his friendship with the University of Haifa."
Mr. Saakashvili caused a stir among the attendees of the conference with his speech accepting the doctorate. He began with a description of the work that has already been done. "Three years ago, my government and I inherited a ruined state. Even now, when I look back at that time, it is difficult to believe how destroyed my country was, how messed up and bankrupt it was, how little hope there was then," said the Georgian president. "Today the Georgian budget is nine times larger than it was three years ago. And not because of a flow of direct foreign investment, not because of oil revenues, but thanks to a normally-functioning government, effectiveness, and a unified approach to the battle with corruption."
However, the audience was more struck by the parallel Mr. Saakashvili drew between the oppressed Jews in tsarist Russia and the current persecution of Georgians. He made a reference to "the order from Empress Catherine I of April 26, 1727 stipulating expulsion, without concern for title and virtue, and the confiscation of the property of all Jews in Russia." "I am talking about this historical example for two reasons," said Mr. Saakashvili. "First of all, because of the surprising resemblance between the politics of today and those of 250 years ago. It seems like old habits die hard. Secondly, there is yet another reason why the Jews and the Georgians understand each other on a basic, instinctual level. General historical experience has strengthened our reciprocal ties."
The Georgian president's speech was interrupted several times by applause. Finally, Mr. Saakashvili won over his audience completely by saying that the politician that he took as his model in the rehabilitation of Georgia was David Ben-Gurion: "I can say that I understand what that's like – to try to build a state when danger is knocking on the door, when those who wish us ill are strong and their arsenals are loaded."
Avinoam Idan, one of the organizers of the conference, told Kommersant that Russia's representatives had refused to take part in the forum. "For us it was very important to see representatives from Russia among the guests at the forum. We appealed to our Russian colleagues, in particular we were in contact with deputy foreign minister Andrei Denisov and with representatives of the Russian embassy in Israel, but we never got any kind of official answer from them." Mr. Idan also noted that "Mikheil Saakashvili was invited before the deterioration of [Georgia's] relations with Russia. That invitation, like the conference itself, had no political context or subtext whatsoever. The issue is that Israel and Georgia are very similar to each other. Both countries lack energy resources. However, the Georgian prime minister is showing how a country can successfully use its geographical position in the sphere of [oil and gas] transit. Israel, as a potential transit country, wanted to learn from that example, and that is where our interest in Georgia came from."
Since Russian officials were absent from the conference, the rest of the attendees responded extremely positively to Mr. Saakashvili's speech: in one example, Kazakh deputy prime minister Karim Masimov said that Georgia is one of the main partners of his country, and Kazakhstan occupies a leading role in investment in Georgia. For his part, Israeli Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer talked about how he hopes to turn Israel into an energy crossroads on a global scale by getting involved in the Baku-Tbilisi-Jeihan pipeline corridor.
Yesterday was no less of a satisfying red-letter day for Mikheil Saakashvili. In the morning he accompanied Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai to lay a wreath on the grave of former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. His further program called for a meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav; a meeting in the Knesset; the opening of a memorial dedicated to the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli, who is buried in Jerusalem; and a walk through Jerusalem's Old City.
Finally, last evening Mr. Saakashvili met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Before the meeting, Israeli analysts had predicted that the growing closeness between Israel and Georgia could be seen as an answer to Russia's contact with Syria and Iran. That similarity is magnified if one takes into account the fact that, according to information obtained by Kommersant, the discussion during yesterday's talks concerned the purchase of Israeli weapons by Georgia.
Grigory Asmolov (Jerusalem) and Mikhail Zygar
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 02, 2006
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