"Her appointment as prime minister could turn out to be productive and positive for the relations between the Church and the State in Israel too, as well as for peace with the neighbouring nations". This is the opinion of David Jaeger, an observer and expert in politics and religion in the Holy Land, about the victory of Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the primary election of Kadima, the first party in the country’s government coalition. "Livni said the Franciscan priest to SIR also presided over the most active period in the pursuit of an agreement with the Catholic Church on the confirmation of the historical tax exemptions for the Church in the Holy Land and the much sought-after return of some significant ecclesiastic properties. She has visibly sped up the pace of the negotiations by taking them and making her government colleagues take them very seriously, which was not always so evident before. So her appointment as prime minister could turn out to be productive and positive for the relations between the Church and the State in Israel too". About the comparison made by some analysts between Livni and Golda Meir, father Jaeger explains that "the comparison with Golda Meir in not necessarily a compliment. Abroad, Ms Meir is remembered, respected, as an ‘iron lady’ who managed to establish herself on the political scene which used to be mostly inhabited by men". (continued)
