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Simply Heimish. After the war, Eshkol rose quickly under the appreciative eye of Premier David Ben-Gurion, whose close colleague he had been for many years. He established himself as a popular labor leader as head of Israel's largest local union. As director-general of the Defense Ministry, he founded the armament industry that now supplies the Israeli army with weapons and armored trucks. As Finance Minister from 1952 to 1963, he was the man most responsible for Israel's economic miracle. He directed the flow of incoming capital into constructive projects, founded the nation's central bank and merchant marine, established its economic-planning authority, and at the same time sold hundreds of millions of dollars of Israeli bonds abroad. In the last years of Ben-Gurion's regime, Eshkol was the undisputed economic czar of Israel, sharing the power of state almost equally with the old man.
Even so, Ben-Gurion intended Eshkol to be a transitional Premier when he turned over the reins to him four years ago and withdrew to a desert retreat. He wanted Eshkol to serve only until his real protege, General Moshe Dayan, was ready to step into the job. Because of the Sinai campaign, Dayan was undeniably the most popular figure in Israeli politics after Ben-Gurion himself. Moreover, the patch he wore over his left eye was a vote-getting image every bit as powerful as B-G's long white mane.
Eshkol lacks the charisma of either Ben-Gurion or Dayan; he simply cannot mesmerize the masses. He delivers his speeches haltingly, woodenly, gurgling instead of rolling the Hebrew r. In a beret and white shirt, he cuts a dumpy, almost grotesque figure when he is called upon to review Israeli troops. Whereas Ben-Gurion had been the all-powerful, all-seeing idol of Israel, Eshkol was simply heimish—Yiddish for plain folks. But he had no intention of being a caretaker Premier. He decided to run the government for his own time, in his own way and according to his own lights, most of which seemed to be amber.
Great Compromiser. Eshkol brought Israel a new kind of leadership. He governed by committee and, as a much better political dealer than B-G, was ever sensitive to the demands of organized labor and to the other political currents within his nation. His stress was on consensus, temperance and quiet restraint; and though these qualities have often made his government seem dull, Eshkol has led Israel with accomplished dedication. He was the first Israeli Premier to be received at the White House (by President Johnson in 1964), negotiated a joint U.S.-Israeli project for nuclear desalinization of sea water. He also threaded his way successfully through the delicate process of establishing diplomatic relations with West Germany. Ignoring Ben-Gurion's final words of advice ("Eshkol, don't always be a compromiser"), he billed himself as the Great Compromiser, the man who would usher in an era of peace and good will. There were even a few optimists who thought that he might succeed where the pugnacious Ben-Gurion had failed—at reducing the tensions with the Arabs.