No Fog on the Crystal Ball

The following are excerpts from the weekly updates of one month ago and six weeks ago, respectively. As opposed to other analysts and politicians. Moshe Feiglin wrote that he does not think that Olmert will fall so fast. We received many responses saying that this time, Moshe was wrong. But alas, he was right. His analysis for the future still holds true.

Olmert Won't Fall Fast

I do not think that Olmert will fall in the near future. Furthermore, he may even come out of his legal ordeal stronger than ever. After Talansky’s testimony, Olmert’s political career should have been finished. But we live in a culture of betrayal. Ethics do not matter – only the law does. And Olmert is a sly and seasoned lawyer. He knows just how to manage with the “rule of law” that has replaced the rule of truth, justice and ethics.

Olmert learned a very important lesson from Sharon. No matter how much you abuse the public, and even if a solid majority of your own party opposes you, if you persevere and hang on – and if there is no real alternative for PM – the public will vote for you once again.

The nation thirsts for leadership. If an unscrupulous leader runs his government like a mafia don, the public will temporarily reject him. But if nobody manages to depose him, it will ultimately be in awe of the “leader who outmaneuvered everybody.”

We might be hearing some incriminating testimony now, but that will not be enough. The Likud has not presented itself as a meaningful alternative. Netanyahu’s popularity is about the same as Tzippy Livni’s, at a time when an Opposition leader with a true alternative vision should be galvanizing the nation to make a much-needed change.

And so as illogical as it may seem, I don’t think that we have seen the last of Olmert. Furthermore, if the Likud does not clearly express its national identity, it is doubtful if it will win the next elections.

And who is the prime minister of the state of "the rule of law?" A seasoned lawyer, of course. A small-time criminal acts against the law. A medium criminal evades the law, while a big-time criminal commits his crime by means of the law. Our current prime minister is a medium criminal. He just may manage to prove that he didn't break the law, after all.

Keep up to date with our latest articles and audio updates

Visit our "What's New" Webpage
 

On Tuesday night the settlement of Beit El hosted Moshe Feiglin and Effie Eitam for a debate on Israel's future. Eitam was elected to the NRP but resigned and has started a new party called Achi.

Eitam said that after Gush Katif, he understood that the Religious Zionist public has to lead the nation. That is why he established the Achi party. He admitted, though, that Achi can achieve 9 Knesset seats at most. His conclusion? One possibility is to join the Likud as part of the Achi faction now. The other possibility is to attract as many voters as possible from the National Camp (not necessarily Religious Zionists) to Achi and then, with a solid number of Achi MKs, to join the Likud.

For readers of our weekly updates, Moshe Feiglin's response is obvious. Number one, it is a shame that Eitam woke up to the leadership imperative only after Gush Katif, while Manhigut Yehudit has been working on it for over a decade. Secondly, if you believe that the Religious Zionist public must connect to the National Camp, why create a new party? It is more straightforward and logical to join the leadership party of the National Camp, the Likud, combine forces from there and lead the nation.

Manhigut Yehudit needs your help now more than ever. You can help to get our message out. Support Manhigut Yehudit, print out this update and distribute it in your community, arrange a Manhigut Yehudit lecture in your community, and tell your friends about the fast-growing Jewish Leadership alternative. For information call:

Israel: 09 774 0932
U.S.: 516 295 3222
 

Sivan, 5768
June, '08

When Gilad Shalit was abducted, the spin was that the kidnappers were part of a clandestine terror group; some sort of popular front over which the Hamas had no control. But then the Hamas realized that even if it takes full responsibility for abducting Shalit, no harm will befall it. And so, without blinking an eye, the elected government that rules as a sovereign in Gaza embarked upon direct and open negotiations for the release of the abducted Israeli soldier. Ismail Haniyeh doesn't even masquerade as a mere mediator. He, the leader of the Hamas, sets the price that will convince him, in his capacity as the prime minister of Gaza, to release the Israeli soldier.

In plain English, that is a declaration of war. But Israel is paralyzed. Why?

What would have happened if in the Yom Kippur War, the Syrians would have stationed an artillery unit in the Syrian village of Kuneitra and shelled Tiberias from its heights? Would somebody have even thought it improper to retaliate because of the civilian casualties that would inevitably result? That would be ridiculous. If a sovereign government decides to go to war, it does so in the name of its entire nation. Everybody is included. There are no 'innocent civilians.' If the elected government goes so far as to use a civilian platform for its attack, the responsibility for the results is clearly on its shoulders and not on the side defending itself.

But in Israel's case, this logic does not hold. The Hamas enjoys the best of both worlds. On one hand, it has territory, a democratically elected government, and international aid and recognition while on the other hand, it bears no responsibility for its actions. It has the power of government and the responsibility of an impudent teen. It shells the Jews from inside its sovereign territory, and the Jews restrict themselves to policing the attackers alone – as if they were a gang smuggling drugs from Mexico to Texas.

Can Israel win under these circumstances? Obviously not. That is precisely the cause of the insane situation in Israel today – unique to this country alone.

Israel cannot defeat the Hamas because defeating the Arabs of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, or actually dealing with the rising nationalism of Israel's Arabs – would leave Israel alone with its Jewish identity. Victory means a return to the Biblical Land of Israel. It means reconnecting to our Biblical role models, encouraging Arabs to emigrate from our Biblical homeland, declaring sovereignty over our homeland and massive Jewish settlement. Israel's short history proves that anything less than that is not victory.

Actually, the only real victory that Israel ever enjoyed was the victory of the War of Independence in 1948. In that war, Israel actualized the four principles mentioned above: conquest, Arab emigration, sovereignty and settlement. That triumph triggered a true peace process. For a while, it looked like the process would end like most wars, in which one side defeats the other and in the end both sides shake hands.

But that did not happen. The Arabs eventually realized that the Jews did not establish an independent Jewish state, but a new Israeli state. This identity-less state desperately needed the Arabs to prove just how normal it really was: No Jewish identity; just a collection of Jews, Arabs and whoever else living together with no roots or religions to disturb it. The logical result is that the Arabs – who hold the key to the new Israeli identity – have an insurance policy against any Israeli aggression or retaliation. That is why Israel cannot deal with the missiles flying into its sovereign territory on a nearly daily basis. That is also why an 'Israeli' Arab MK can direct the Katyusha missiles into Haifa and laugh all the way from his interrogation in Israel to the bank in Jordan with his hefty Israeli compensation.

What will we do? Will we continue to raise white flags all the way from Gaza to Tel Aviv? After all, Israeli mentality can no longer integrate a solution based on the principles of the War of Independence. Tens of years of leftist brainwashing have deleted the concept called 'victory' from the Israeli lexicon. Concepts like the Land of Israel or the Jewish Nation are virtually unthinkable.

The real threat to Israel is not from the military might of Iran or the Arab states. The real threat is that they will not need to use it. They have already discovered Israel's weak spot and they can watch it crumble away without a battle.

Israel must change direction and elect leadership with a Jewish orientation – leadership that draws on its internal resources for its sense of self worth and is not dependant on the approval of other nations. If we don't do that soon, we will all turn out to be - in the best case scenario – Gilad Shalit.

 

Keep up to date with our latest articles and audio updates

Visit our "What's New" Webpage
 

Thursday, 23 Sivan (June 26) Jerusalem (Hebrew)
Meet with Moshe Feiglin, Emanuel Gartel and Dr. Nitza Kahane
Place: Home of Yair Feiglin
15 Sireni Street
Kiryat Yovel, Jerusalem
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Info: 052 433 7210

Tuesday, 28 Sivan (July 1) Jerusalem (Hebrew)
Meet with Moshe Feiglin
Place: Home of Attny. Eddy Steinlauf
14 Yosef Chachami St., apt. 5
Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Info: 02 676 6432

Sunday, 3 Tamuz (July 6) Jerusalem (Hebrew)
Meet with Moshe Feiglin
Place: Likud Jerusalem branch
Info: 052 60 -0117

Tuesday, 5 Tamuz (July 8) Yad Binyamin (Hebrew)
Meet with Moshe Feiglin
Place: Home of Yisrael Family
Yad Binyamin
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Info: 052 660 6618
 

No matter where you are,
you can be part of Manhigut Yehudit.
Join us!

Together we can channel our idealistic energy
into revolutionizing Israeli society.

What can I do?

Our Aim: To perfect the world in the Kingdom of the Almighty