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By Ira Sharkansky
 JERUSALEM—One can gain insight into Israeli politics by examining the position of the current foreign minister. What emerges is a story where appearances are not everything, and pragmatism overcomes a simple reckoning of importance.
Avigdor Lieberman heads Israel Beitenu, the second largest party in the coalition. Without his cooperation Benyamin Netanyahu might not be prime minister.
Lieberman's primary constituency are immigrants from the former Soviet Union. About one million arrived from the late 1980s through the 1990s, plus children born here minus those who left for greener pastures. They amount to 20 percent of the Jewish population. Not all are Jews according to the rabbis, but most are, and they are more like Jews than any other group. They tend to be right of center.
Lieberman represents this population, and others who support him, by the sharpest comments one can find in the Israeli establishment about Palestinians and other Arabs. Critics call him a racist. The Egyptian government treats him as persona non grata due to a statement about President Mubarak that included the line, "He can go to hell." He views the peace process with the Palestinians as useless, and enraged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by asserting that the Obama administration changed an understanding with the United States about settlements. Among the juiciest of accusations is that of Martin Peretz of The New Republic. He called Lieberman "neo-fascist … a certified gangster … the Israeli equivalent of Jorg Haider."
A police investigation that languished for years returned to the headlines on account of new information just before the February election. Allegations involve money laundering, bribery, and obstruction of justice. Under Israeli law, a person can hold office as long as there is no indictment.
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Lieberman's rhetoric is more of a problem than his liability as a possible criminal. Ehud Olmert continued for his entire tenure as prime minister while under police investigation for offenses no less serious.
Lieberman is foreign minister, but not really. He has had long tours far from the hot spots (and the Foreign Ministry) in Africa and Latin America. Media coverage of his meeting with Masai tribesman did not boost his importance. A cartoon in Ha'aretz has him saying, "Me Tarzan."
The real work is done by Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, President Shimon Peres, and Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Netanyahu and Barak have handled the important meetings with ranking Americans and Europeans. It was Peres, and not the Russian speaking Lieberman, who visited Russia for conversations with high officials about the ship carrying a hidden cargo of missiles to Iran or Syria, and waylaid by what may have been a Israeli-Russian operation.
When we hear Lieberman, he is usually expressing a clear posture that may excite many Israelis to say, "Right on!," but others to fear that he is not sufficiently nuanced.
Ayalon is a seasoned diplomat with long experience and numerous functions in the foreign ministry, peaked by a four year stint in the most prestigious position as Ambassador to the United States. His academic and business credentials are impressive. He appears frequently on Israeli media, and speaks about policy without ruffling feathers.
Ayalon entered politics after his term as ambassador, and campaigned as number seven on Lieberman's party list. His position in the Foreign Ministry solves part of the Lieberman problem. Ayalon's workload is arguably greater than that of colleagues higher on the party list, whose formal titles outrank his own.
We see again that politics is not for simpletons. The formula involved in putting together a party list or a government may not be the same that defines who does what.
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