媒体评论如今的以色列政府开始"两面下注"

In the last week of November, Israel was locked in a tense, politically charged set of negotiations with EU diplomats over a 1.5bn package of loans from Brussels. The talks were bound to be difficult: the Europeans had already stipulated that the money would go only to organisations that did not do business in Jewish settlements on occupied Arab land.

去年11月的最后一周，以色列与欧盟(EU)外交官展开了气氛紧张、政治色彩浓厚的一系列谈判，主题是欧盟向以色列提供的15亿欧元贷款。谈判注定不会轻松：欧洲人已经讲明，接受贷款的企业不能在以色列所占领的阿拉伯地区的犹太人定居点做生意。

To some Israelis, the EU’s position – designed to make a point about the borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state – raised fears that the country was sliding towards the economic isolation South Africa felt in the final years of apartheid.

欧盟之所以采取这样的立场，是认为有必要在以色列和未来的巴勒斯坦国之间划清边界。这让一些以色列人担心，它正滑向南非在种族隔离政策末期所经历的那种经济孤立局面。

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, called an emergency cabinet meeting to find a way of breaking the stalemate to renew the terms for the loan programme, known as Horizon 2020. Within days, an agreement was reached: the EU would provide the money but none of it would benefit Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.

以色列总理本雅明•内塔尼亚胡(Benjamin Netanyahu)召开内阁紧急会议，试图打破僵局，为这一名为“地平线2020”(Horizon 2020)的贷款计划重新商定条款。不出几日，双方达成了协议：欧盟同意提供贷款，但所有贷款不得惠及约旦河西岸、东耶路撒冷或戈兰高地的以色列定居点。

While this acrimonious negotiation was playing out, Israel was pursuing another initiative. It received far less attention but offered a sign of how the nation sees its future place in the world: President Shimon Peres was off to Mexico City, where the atmosphere was far less contentious.

在谈判剑拔弩张之际，以色列还在开展另一项行动。该行动受到的关注远不及前者，但象征着以色列对其未来地位的看法：以色列总统西蒙•佩雷斯(Shimon Peres)启程访问墨西哥城，那里的气氛要平和得多。

There he was greeted by President Enrique Peña Nieto and an honour guard at the Palacio Nacional. With him was an 80-strong delegation representing some of Israel’s most promising and sought-after industries, from high-tech irrigation and cyber security to drones.

墨西哥总统恩里克•佩尼亚•涅托(Enrique Peña Nieto)在墨西哥国家宫(Palacio Nacional)热烈欢迎了佩雷斯，并安排了仪仗队检阅仪式。与佩雷斯随行的还有一个规模达80人的代表团，他们代表了以色列最有前途、最热门的行业，包括高科技灌溉、网络安全和无人机等等。

The Mexican trip was part of a broad strategic push by Israel into emerging markets, where it hopes there will be more interest in its technology than the conflict over its borders. As Israel’s political relations fray with the EU – and some question its relationship with the US – Mr Netanyahu’s government is seeking to diversify its economic relations by strengthening ties with faster-growing countries.

墨西哥之行是以色列进军新兴市场战略计划的一部分。它希望这些国家能更关心自己的技术，而不是边界冲突。随着以色列与欧盟的政治关系出现裂痕，同时对美关系也受到一些人质疑，内塔尼亚胡政府正寻求加强与增长较快国家的双边关系，将经济联系多元化。

The Israeli delegation was met by Carlos Slim, the telecoms baron and world’s richest man, who led a group of Mexican chief executives eager to learn from and do business with their counterparts.

墨西哥电信大亨、全球首富卡洛斯•斯利姆(Carlos Slim)会见了以色列代表团。以斯利姆为首的一批墨西哥公司的首席执行官们，渴望与以色列的同行交流学习，并建立商业往来。

“We like to have our finger on the pulse of everything regarding new technologies, and I know that in this Israel is a world leader,” Mr Slim said in a speech at his Museo Soumaya art museum, adding that he hoped to invest more in Israel. Mr Slim’s America Movil was an investor in a recent $60m financing round for Mobli, a promising Israeli start-up mobile photo and video-sharing platform.

斯利姆在他的索马亚艺术博物馆(Museo Soumaya)讲道：“我们希望把握新技术的脉搏，我也知道以色列在这方面处于全球领先地位。”他补充称，希望加大在以色列的投资。斯利姆旗下的墨西哥美洲电信公司(America Movil)近期参与了以色列初创公司Mobli价值6000万美元的一轮融资活动。Mobli是一个手机图片和视频分享平台，具有非常好的发展前景。

In targeting emerging economies, Israeli officials say they are going after the same high-growth markets most other countries are pursuing – but acknowledge that there is also a political component to the shift in strategy.

以色列官员表示，打入新兴市场，即是像大多数国家那样瞄准高增长市场，但他们承认，这种战略变化也有政治上的考虑。

“The lesson we learnt from the recent experience negotiating with the EU over Horizon 2020 was that Israel cannot put all of its eggs in one basket,” says Naftali Bennett, Israel’s economy minister and head of the rightwing, pro-settler Jewish Home party. “We need to scatter them.”

“最近与欧盟就‘地平线2020’的谈判让我们认识到，以色列不能把所有鸡蛋放在同一个篮子里，”以色列经济部长纳夫塔利•本内特(Naftali Bennett)表示，“我们要把鸡蛋分散在不同的篮子里。”本内特是支持以色列建立定居点的右翼政党犹太家园党(Jewish Home Party)的党魁。

Another government official, reflecting on a recent visit by Chinese politicians to Israel, put matters more bluntly: “They don’t care about the [Palestinian] issue,” the official said. “They want to talk about three things: Israeli technology, Israeli technology and Israeli technology.”

另一位政府官员回顾了中国政府官员近期对以色列的访问，其言辞更为直言不讳。“他们不关心巴勒斯坦问题，”这位官员说，“他们想谈三件事：以色列技术、以色列技术和以色列技术。”

Israel’s economic pivot to the east and south is a welcome development for the majority of Israelis who reject Europe’s growing drive to isolate their country economically over its Palestinian policies.

欧洲越来越通过经济孤立来影响以色列的对巴勒斯坦政策，这引起了以色列人的反对。因此，将经济重心转向东方和南方国家颇受绝大多数以色列人的欢迎。

But Israel’s shift could – if it succeeds – be bad news for the international “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions” movement, which favours a full economic boycott of Israel to press it to make peace.

但以色列的战略转移一旦成功，就可能不利于国际上的“抵制、孤立、制裁”(BDS)运动，后者倾向于对以色列进行全盘经济抵制，迫使它实现和平。

It comes as the BDS movement takes heart from recent decisions by European companies such as Vitens, the Dutch water company, and Veolia, the French infrastructure group, to curtail business in the West Bank after facing pressure from campaigners. Last month the American Studies Association, a US academic group, made a controversial decision to boycott Israeli universities, which Israelis worry could presage similar moves.

最近，在活动人士的压力下，荷兰水务公司Vitens和法国基建集团威立雅(Veolia)等欧洲公司削减了它们在约旦河西岸的业务，这让BDS运动大受鼓舞。去年12月，美国学术团体——美国研究协会(American Studies Association)做出了一项有争议的决定：抵制以色列大学。以色列人担心其他团体也会采取类似举措。

While the EU has promised “unprecedented” economic aid to Israel and the Palestinians if they make peace, it has shown increasing willingness to brandish the economic stick, too. Apart from the new Horizon 2020 guidelines, Brussels is also considering adopting rules that require labelling of fruit, vegetables and other goods produced in settlements that are sold in the EU.

虽然欧盟承诺，如果巴以修好，它将向以色列和巴勒斯坦人提供“空前”的经济援助，但它也越发表现出挥舞经济“大棒”的意愿。除了新的“地平线2020”的指导方针外，欧盟还在考虑出台规定，要求以色列在定居点生产并销往欧洲的水果、蔬菜等商品上贴上标签明示。

Yair Lapid, the finance minister, and Tzipi Livni, Israel’s chief negotiator in the talks with the Palestinians, are among the moderate members of Mr Netanyahu’s government who have warned that their country could face sanctions of the kind seen in apartheid-era South Africa if it fails to negotiate peace.

以色列财长亚伊尔•拉皮德(Yair Lapid)和巴以和谈中以方首席谈判代表齐皮•利夫尼(Tzipi Livni)是内塔尼亚胡政府中的温和派成员。他们警告称，如果以色列不进行和谈，就可能面临南非在种族隔离时代遭受的那种制裁。

However, defence minister Moshe Ya’alon, a leading rightwinger in the ruling Likud party and a sceptic of the peace talks, said he preferred “EU boycotts over rockets on Tel Aviv”. His comments reflect a steelier view within government that Israel is ready to weather economic isolation.

但执政党利库德党(Likud Party)的重要右翼成员、国防部长摩西•亚阿隆(Moshe Ya’alon)对和谈表示怀疑，称“宁可忍受欧盟的抵制，也不愿特拉维夫被火箭弹攻击”。他的言辞反映了政府内部强硬派的观点：以色列已经做好了承受经济孤立的准备。

Mr Bennett, a former businessman who co-founded and sold a successful software company before entering politics, is the principal architect of Israel’s push into new markets. Among leftwing Israelis, he is an object of scorn for his categorical rejection of a Palestinian state. He once compared Israel’s ability to live with the conflict to a man he knew who was able to adjust to life with a piece of shrapnel in his rear end.

以色列经济部长本内特是以色列打入新兴市场计划的主要设计师。他在从政前曾是一家软件公司的联合创始人，并在公司取得成功后将其出售。由于旗帜鲜明地反对巴勒斯坦建国，他成为左翼以色列人奚落的对象。本内特的一位熟人曾被榴霰弹击中臀部，但现在这个人学会了如何带着弹片生活，本内特认为以色列也有能力在冲突中生存。

While remarks such as these have made headlines, Mr Bennett has – more quietly – led economic delegations to China and India. His ministry is closing Israeli trade missions in Sweden and Finland and opening missions in China, India and Brazil.

此类言论曾被媒体广泛报道，但更不为人知的是，本内特曾率领经济代表团访问中国和印度。以色列经济部正在撤回驻瑞典和芬兰的贸易代表团，转而向中国、印度和巴西派遣贸易代表团。

On the sidelines of the World Trade Organisation summit in Bali last month, Mr Bennett met his Russian counterpart Aleksey Ulyukayev, and the two men agreed to begin talks on a new free-trade agreement. Russia and Israel already trade $2bn a year worth of diamonds.

在去年12月的世界贸易组织(WTO)巴厘岛峰会间隙，本内特会晤了俄罗斯经济发展部长阿列克谢•乌柳卡耶夫(Aleksey Ulyukayev)。两人同意开始新的自贸协定的谈判。俄罗斯和以色列已经开展了每年高达20亿美元的钻石贸易。

While in Bali, Mr Bennett and his colleagues also met other trade delegations and held talks on future FTAs with “a number of surprising countries”, he said afterwards, the names of which he did not reveal.

本内特后来表示，在巴厘岛期间，他和同事们还会见了其他国家的贸易代表团，与“多个冷门国家”举行了自贸协定谈判。但他没有透露具体有哪些国家。

Israel’s foreign ministry has also welcomed delegations from countries in Latin America and elsewhere interested in the policies and regulations that make the Jewish state one of the leading centres of innovation. “There is a major effort in the ministry of foreign affairs to ‘brand’ Israel as a start-up nation,” says Irit Ben-Abba, deputy director-general of the ministry’s economic affairs division.

以色列外交部还迎来了拉美等地区的政府代表团，后者有意了解是哪些政策法规推动这个犹太人国家成为重要的创新中心。以色列外交部经济事务司副司长伊里特•本-阿巴(Irit Ben-Abba)表示：“外交部竭力将以色列‘包装’为‘创业国家’。”

Israel’s economic shift comes at a time when its geopolitical bearings are in a broader state of flux.

以色列的经济战略转移，发生在其地缘政治地位不稳定的背景下。

Alongside the friction with the EU, Israelis have in recent months also questioned their country’s reliance on the US, their closest ally and another main trading partner, because of differences over the nuclear negotiations with Iran.

除与欧盟发生摩擦外，由于伊朗核谈判问题上的分歧，以色列人近几个月还对本国对美国的依赖提出质疑。美国是以色列最亲密的盟友，也是该国另一大主要贸易伙伴。

Avigdor Lieberman, foreign minister, said in a recent speech that Israel’s link with the US was “waning” and the country needed to shift from a “unidirectional” foreign policy to one of seeking better relations with a more diverse range of countries.

以色列外长阿维格多尔•利伯曼(Avigdor Lieberman)最近在一场演讲中表示，以色列与美国的关系正在“弱化”，该国需要摆脱“单向”的外交政策，转而与一系列不同的国家修好关系。

The same tensions over Iran have aligned Israel more closely with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations but has long done business through back channels. After his visit to Bali, Mr Bennett noted that he had given a speech to 157 trade ministers – including those from Arab and Muslim states – and “we didn’t notice anyone walk out”.

同样由于伊朗紧张局势，以色列与沙特和其他海湾国家走得更近。以色列没有与这些国家建交，但长期以来通过秘密渠道与它们做生意。本内特在巴厘岛之行后指出，他曾向157个国家（包括阿拉伯和穆斯林国家）的贸易部长发表演讲，“我们未发现有人离席”。

Israeli and European officials say that the EU, which accounts for about a third of Israel’s imports and a quarter of exports, will remain an essential trading partner for the country for now.

以色列和欧洲官员均表示，欧盟仍将是该国不可或缺的贸易伙伴。以色列三分之一的进口来自欧盟，同时对欧洲的出口占到其出口总额的四分之一。

However, as a precarious peace process continues, Israel is hedging its bets and realigning itself in the world.

但在脆弱的和平进程推进之际，以色列也在两面下注，重新加强与世界各国的联系。

Last Monday, as John Kerry, the US secretary of state, was heading to the region, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat warned that Israel’s government had “foiled the talks” because of its continued expansion of settlements and controversial draft legislation to annex the Jordan Valley.

去年12月底，美国国务卿约翰•克里(John Kerry)出访中东地区。巴方谈判代表赛义布•埃雷卡特(Saeb Erekat)警告称，以色列政府“阻挠谈判”，不断扩建定居点，并且起草争议的立法，试图吞并约旦河谷。

That same day, Mr Netanyahu convened a meeting in his Jerusalem office of a new committee on advancing economic ties with China.

与此同一天，内塔尼亚胡在他位于耶路撒冷的办公室举行会议，召集了一个为加强对华经济联系而新设立的委员会参加。

With four ministers in the room, the prime minister was briefed on the arrival of new Chinese investors in Israel and plans to open a consulate in Chengdu. In 2014 the two countries will hold joint working groups on agriculture, water, energy, clean technology and high technology in Israel and China.

内塔尼亚胡和与会的四位部长听取了中国新投资者抵达以色列的消息，以及以色列在成都开设领事馆的计划。2014年，中以两国将在农业、水利、能源、清洁技术和高科技领域设立联合工作组。

“Our goal is to consistently increase trade with China, year after year,” Mr Netanyahu said afterwards. “This is one of the main horizons for ensuring the growth of the Israeli economy.”

“我们的目标是逐年增加对华贸易，”内塔尼亚胡后来表示，“这是保障以色列经济增长的主要着眼点之一。”