Friday, November 9, 2012

The ‘This Is Their Land’ Mentality

Feiglin-Moshe
The ritual of rockets that periodically pummel Israel’s southern communities includes numerous media interviews with the important people. The journalists attempt to extract from anybody who thinks he is somebody some piece of a resolution for this crazy situation that is unparalleled anywhere in the world.

The first to express himself during last week’s round of rocket fire was President Shimon Peres, who, during a visit to the north, expressed his anger at the situation in the south. “We haven’t seen Shimon Peres this angry in a long time,” the reporter noted.

After Peres came Yair Lapid, a candidate for the premiership: “What is the solution?” asked the reporter. “We must coordinate all the public relations bureaus,” Lapid answered, hurrying to steer the discussion to the topic of his expertise. “I would coordinate all the public relations in the Foreign Ministry.”

Read More:

 http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/columns/moshe-feiglin/the-this-is-their-land-mentality/2012/11/07/0/?print

Whose Watchdogs are They?

It is morning and my car glides down the mountains of the Shomron into the smog of greater Tel Aviv. Another crazy day of running for the primaries is about to begin. My cell phone rings. A young, determined voice is on the other end.

"Shalom, this is so and so from the news website, ynet."

"Shalom."

"I am writing an article about donations to the candidates in the primaries. I wanted you to confirm a certain fact. "

"Go ahead."

"I see that you received a donation from a woman by the name of Nitzah Kahane."

"OK."

"Is it true that Nitzah Kahane is the daughter in law of the late Rabbi Kahane?"


Read More:

http://www.mflikud.com/eng_contents/articles/73/article7315.html

Friday, November 2, 2012

Moshe Feiglin: Timeline




Av 5754 (July '94): Moshe Feiglin establishes Zo Artzeinu – a large protest movement that calls for non-violent civil disobedience to protest the Oslo Accords.

Cheshvan 5757 (Nov. '96): Moshe Feiglin, Shmuel Sackett and Moti Karpel establish the Manhigut Yehudit movement. The movement's main message: The State of Israel needs faith based leadership to save it from collapse.

5758 ('97): Moshe Feiglin publishes his first book, "Where There are no Men."

5759 ('99): Close to ten thousand people join Manhigut Yehudit.

5760 (2000): Total disappointment from the political leadership of the National Camp. Netanyahu and Arafat in Wye. Founding members of the Likud call upon Moshe Feiglin to join the Likud and save the National Camp. Moshe Feiglin and thousands of his supporters join the Likud.

Sivan 5762 (May '02): Moshe Feiglin initiates the Likud Convention, which votes against the establishment of a Palestinian State.

Cheshvan 5763 (Nov. '02): 130 Moshe Feiglin supporters are elected to the Likud Central Committee.

Kislev 5763 (Dec. '02): Moshe Feiglin's first primaries race for leadership of the Likud.
The results: Sharon 55.88% Netanyahu 40.08% Feiglin 3.46%.

Read More:

http://www.mflikud.com/eng_contents/about/timeline.html 

10 Reasons to Vote for Moshe Feiglin

Capitalism at the Tipping Point

There is a strong feeling in Israel that the State has become wealthier but the people have become poorer. This is due to the fact that the means for productivity are concentrated in the hands of a small minority. The first and foremost means of productivity was and remains land.

Israel's economic leadership has conducted itself according to the best criteria known to it: capitalism. This saved Israel from descent into the depths of socialism that had previously brought us triple digit inflation and has toppled the economies of Europe right before our eyes.

There is no such thing as a socialist economy. Economy means creativity, productivity, creation and life; emulating the Creator. Socialism is a euphemism for robbery and self-righteous theft – perpetrated by the law. Creation and robbery go together like life and death. There is not and cannot be a socialist economy.


Read More:

http://www.mflikud.com/eng_contents/articles/73/article7312.html

The Alternative

"We've been living under mortar fire for eighteen years. We have to do something!" said the young woman from Sderot on Razi Barkai's radio show.

"What do you want the leaders to do?" asked Razi.
"I don't know, but what they are doing now doesn't help."
"Sorry to say this to you, but they also don't know what to do," Razi said. "Not because they are stupid, but because there is simply no solution."

Eighteen years is more or less the time that has passed since the Oslo Accords were implemented. It is simple to understand that the continuous terror raining down on Israel's cities is the result of those accords. Why then, doesn't Israel's leadership annul the Oslo Accords? Why doesn't it restore full Israeli control over Gaza, Judea and Samaria? Isn't it cheaper than digging Be'er Sheva into the ground? Covering Sderot with a layer of cement? Isn't it safer than being the targets of a hail of missiles on civilian targets? What does "there is no solution" mean? After all, our very own esteemed president and his men brought this problem upon us and we can also free ourselves of it.

Why doesn't that happen?


Read More:

http://www.mflikud.com/eng_contents/articles/73/article7309.html


The "This is Their Land" Mentality

The ritual of rockets that periodically pummel Israel's southern communities also includes numerous media interviews with the important people. The journalists attempt to extract from anybody who thinks he is a somebody some scrap of a resolution for this crazy situation that is unparalleled anywhere in the world.

The first to express himself during last week's round of rocket fire was President Shimon Peres, who during a visit to the north expressed his anger at the situation in the south. "We haven't seen Shimon Peres this angry in a long time," the reporter noted.


After Peres it was the candidate for premiership, Yair Lapid's turn: "What is the solution?" asked the reporter in the studio. "We must coordinate all the public relations bureaus," Lapid hurried to steer the discussion to the topic of his expertise. "I would coordinate all the public relations in the Foreign Ministry. 


Read More:

http://www.mflikud.com/eng_contents/articles/73/article7313.html 

Monday, July 30, 2012

Who Are We?

Simply Jews
W
e are simply Jews, with no added definitions. We do not call ourselves Orthodox, Conservative or Reform - neither "right-wing" nor "left-wing." Like the overwhelming majority of Jews, we believe in G-d, Who has brought us back to our Jewish home; the Holy Land of Israel. In Israel, the natural predisposition of the Jewish People to illuminate the world with God's light is brought to perfection, enabling us to perform our task in the most consummate way.

Our aim is to create a genuinely Jewish consciousness in the Land of Israel, motivated by the awareness that our faith and our country are intrinsically woven together. An Israeli society predicated on Jewish faith - the Torah - is an ethical and loving society whose ultimate goal is to illuminate the entire world with God's benevolence.

The Modern State of Israel in Crisis
The Zionist movement, which founded the modern State of Israel, was a product of the millennia of longing for return to the Land of Israel. However, it was also a product of the times in which it was born. Basing itself on secular 19th century Western values, Zionism came to fill the need for a safe haven for the Jews of the world. Miraculously, the Zionist movement succeeded in building the complete infrastructure of a modern state - replete with a strong army, high tech, immigration absorption etc. out of the wilderness.
In its essence, though, the secular Zionism on which Israel was built negates holiness. In doing so, it has stripped itself of the tools necessary to reflect the Jewish nature of Israel and its ultimate holy purpose.

We are now witnessing a complete unraveling of the fabric of Israeli society. The very Zionist ideology that built the modern state of Israel has now turned against itself as it seeks to counter its Biblical roots and Divine purpose. This self-destructive bent is the ultimate conclusion of the secular ideology upon which Zionism is based.

The Essential Question: Is Israel a State of Jews - or a Jewish State?
Until now Israel has been a state of the Jews. It is vital to our future to transform Israel into a Jewish state. Israel's elected officials must lead the country with policies based exclusively on Jewish identity, values and ethics.

An Alternative
In 1994, Moshe Feiglin began the Zo Artzeinu ("This is Our Land") protest movement that opposed the self-destructive Oslo Accords with a massive civil disobedience campaign.
It became clear, though, that it was not enough to protest; we had to offer a fundamental alternative - a new strategic objective - in place of the process of collapse that gave rise to the Oslo Accords. Such an alternative would need to be based on both an alternative ideology that would inspire the nation and possess the means for implementation.

Faith-Based Leadership
There is only one way to truly imbue the State of Israel with the meaning it deserves and needs: to promote an alternative leadership for the State of Israel that is based on Jewish belief. Only leadership motivated by an authentically Jewish vision will be capable of meeting all the challenges currently facing the State of Israel and the Jewish People. Only leadership of this kind will be capable of reinvigorating the State of Israel and the Jewish People and leading it towards the realization of the vision of the prophets.
 
Leadership of the Likud
In 1998, Manhigut Yehudit (The Jewish Leadership Movement) was established as the successor to Zo Artzeinu. Our aim is to register thousands of believing members in the Likud - the ruling party of the National Camp - and to elect a party leader who will be motivated by Jewish ideals and values. As the Likud's candidate for Prime Minister, this candidate would be the natural leader of the national camp and would be elected as the Prime Minister of the State of Israel.

What began as a dream has become a reality. Already today, Manhigut Yehudit (The Jewish Leadership Movement) has the largest bloc inside the Likud's Central Committee. In a very short time we became known as the group that "does not come with a price tag." Our weapon is our ideology and tens of thousands of supporters have already joined our ranks. Many Israelis throughout the political spectrum believe that we are the future of Israel's political life and the path we have chosen is correct and viable.

Our Future
With firm faith in the God of Israel, Manhigut Yehudit (The Jewish Leadership Movement) is confident that our future is bright. Indeed the totality of our strategic goals could be summed up in a single phrase from the traditional Aleynu prayer recited daily:
To perfect the world in the kingdom of the Almighty

10 Reasons why Israel Needs Authentic Jewish Leadership

Because Israel Needs:
1.
2. Leadership loyal to you – the Jewish majority in Israel.
3. Jewish education for every Jewish child.
4. A modern and open economy based on Jewish values.
5.
6.
7.
8. Unbiased media open to the entire nation.
9. A moral society.
10. Leadership that  believes in G-d.


Read More:

http://www.jewishisrael.org/eng_contents/reasons/reason.html

The Ultimate Objective: Redemption

Since the Nation of Israel was born, its ultimate aspiration has been the coming of Mashiach and the complete and final redemption. Unlike the very partial goals of modern Zionism (safe-haven, peace, international recognition, etc.) the goal of redemption is all-inclusive and redefines the motivation for the return of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel. It illuminates the life of the Nation with a new light, content and consciousness – for the individual and for the whole.

Read More:

http://www.jewishisrael.org/eng_contents/policies/policies.html

The Draft Tragicomedy

If it weren't so sad, the draft brouhaha would be the greatest show in town. It is a masquerade ball, a tragicomedy in which each actor says the complete opposite of what he really wants.

The main actor, the IDF, is practically invisible. He doesn't dare speak the truth, which happens to be terribly politically incorrect. The truth is that the IDF really does not want the Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox). Not because they are not good people: Simply because as it is, the army has too much manpower. The last thing it needs is to deal with tens of thousands of new recruits with special dietary requirements and the like for which the army is unprepared. Two separate committees (one appointed by the head of the IDF's General Headquarters) the Ben Basat Committee and the Shefer Committee have already studied the issue and recommended reducing conscription. But to tell the truth to the feminists demanding to draft women into combat units and to the "pushovers" demanding a full-scale draft for the Haredim would force the IDF top brass to exercise a rare character trait: courage on public issues.



Read More:

http://www.jewishisrael.org/eng_contents/articles/72/articleA7219.html

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Arrested on the Temple Mount




The Temple Mount
The world is truly upside down – a sure sign that Mashiach’s coming is right around the corner. Incredibly, as The Jewish Press reported yesterday, the highly respected Rabbi Yisrael Ariel was banned from the Temple Mount for setting it above his highest joy – the holiest and most cherished site in the Jewish world – just like a Jew is supposed to. Some terrible crime, isn’t it?
Since Israel Book Month is still with us, with special discount sales in all of the bookstores, and since I wrote about this very topic in my novel, The Discman and the Guru, I’m posting an excerpt from the book. It’s wonderful reading, especially for our young people, certainly more meaningful and Jewish than Harry Potter and The DaVinci Code, or the vampire stories that seem to be so popular today. And it certainly beats smoking marijuana and watching Internet porn.
For those who accuse me of promoting my books for mercenary reasons, the claim is totally unfounded, mainly because my natural audience is Jews, and the majority simply doesn’t appreciate the importance of real Jewish literature. And if someone does order it, I give the money to charity, so don’t worry about making me rich.

Read More:

Arrested on the Temple Mount

Egypt: The Party's Over By Moshe Feiglin

June 28, '12

This week, during Russian president Putin's visit to Israel, President Peres emitted the following pearl of wisdom: "The peace treaty with Egypt saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides."

Of the two states that fought the last all-out war with Israel – Egypt and Syria – only Egypt made "peace" with us. According to Peres' logic, we should have had hundreds of thousands of fatalities on the Syrian front since the Yom Kippur War. But just the opposite is true. The Golan Heights that border on Syria are actually the quietest frontier in Israel, with zero fatalities. By contrast, Israel's south is bleeding – and has been for years.

For those who did not cheer the emperor whose new clothes were conspicuously absent – both in Menachem Begin's Camp David and in the Rabin/Peres Oslo Accords – the current developments in Egypt come as no surprise. There is not and never has been peace between Israel and Egypt. Iran and Syria fight us in the north through their Hizbollah proxy. Egypt fights us in the south with its Hamas proxy. If the Egyptians had wanted to, they could have stopped the convoys of Katyusha rockets and all the other armaments streaming into Gaza from the Sinai.

Many Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, have lost their lives on the Egyptian border. Israel's entire southern region is now under fire by merit of this "peace." And this is without even mentioning the civilian price that we have paid for "peace" with Egypt: trafficking in drugs and women, infiltrators from Africa and other miserable side effects.

The Israeli "peace industry" made sure to keep up the adulation for the emperor's new clothes. They blocked the development of Israeli gas fields so that Israel would continue to purchase oil (that was discovered in the Sinai and developed by Israel after the Six Day War) and gas from Egypt. This arrangement padded the pockets of Egyptian top brass and also those of some select Israelis, who made sure to present a thin façade of pseudo-normal relations with Egypt. We are still paying the price of this arrangement with our outsized electric bills and severe air pollution.

The entire lie of peace with Egypt is now exploding in our faces, and that is just fine. Hopefully, it will not cost lives to restore our southern border to the kind of peace we have on our Syrian border: peace based on the IDF's deterrence.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

The Open Secret

Feiglin-Moshe
The simple conclusion from the Right’s recent failure to pass the Regulation Law, intended to protect Jewish homes from being uprooted in Judea and Samaria, is that the fateful, strategic decisions are determined by one man: the prime minister.
The Likud Central Committee, the MKs and ministers and, in some way, the satellite parties can all improve the traveling conditions in the train. They can get another road built here and another kindergarten opened there. And that is important. But the direction of the train can only be changed from the locomotive – namely, from the prime minister’s seat. And when the prime minister decides, the rest of the railroad cars will follow.
These railroad cars are not only the ministers and MKs. They are the entire national camp – first and foremost, the settlers themselves.
It is not possible to pass the Regulation Law because first, Israel must annex Judea and Samaria. In other words, Israel’s High Court said to Prime Minister Netanyahu, “If you do not stop this law, we will force you to continue on the track to annexation. We will not allow you to treat this law as a tactical measure, something that must be done because the public cannot bear the destruction of these homes. We will force you to view this law as a strategic issue. It is either annexation or expulsion.”
Did anyone doubt what Netanyahu would choose?

Read More:

The Open Secret.... 

Friday, June 1, 2012

Ominous Déjà Vu

Unease. Déjà vu from Sharon’s great Expulsion. It began with a column by Hagai Segal, who depicted the insistence of Migron’s residents not to move from their current location as a sort of childish stubbornness. After all, Kedumim was founded after it was moved from its original location and ultimately grew into a thriving community. So how dare those “children” of Migron, who never heard of settler leader Ze’ev “Zambish” Hever, think otherwise?
After reading that column, I already began to feel that we lost: Migron, Ulpana Hill, it doesn’t really matter what exactly will happen on the ground. Just like in Gush Katif, the struggle on the ground is really just make-believe. The real decisions on the fate of the settlements are being made in an entirely different place where the principle has already been determined, or, to be more specific, preserved. Now it is just a question of price. The deal is really being closed between the settler leaders with the same old Sebastia/Kfar Maimon mentality and the prime minister’s advisers.

Read More:

http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/columns/moshe-feiglin/ominous-deja-vu/2012/06/01/

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Can we Stop the Peace Train? By Moshe Feiglin


It is difficult for some to accept the connections being made between Manhigut Yehudit and those who – when push came to shove – voted in favor of the Expulsion from Gush Katif. Both MK Miri Regev, who works tirelessly on behalf of every nationalist issue – be it the Ulpana Hill or the African infiltrators – and Minister Silvan Shalom who has been a very positive force for the settlements and other national interests were not in the right place at the critical hour. Many find our renewed friendship hard to swallow.

Since the government of Rabin and Peres put the "peace train" on the Oslo tracks, the sand in the settlement hourglass has been running out. The recognition of the "Palestinian nation and its rights" means the loss of recognition of the Jewish state and its rights. It's as simple as that. The destruction train does not stop at the 1967 borders; the missiles are already falling in Be'er Sheva and London hardly recognizes Israel. But the policy of removal is currently focused on the settlements over the Green Line. For now, the settlements are the front line.

The Israeli Right did not have the tools to counter the alternative promoted by the Left because it never really had an alternative. All that the Right had was healthier national feelings. But feelings don't stop trains – and they certainly cannot place them on a different track to a different destination. Inside the train, the Likud MKs will do all they can to help, but they are incapable of changing its direction.

Nobody thinks that Miri Regev, Silvan Shalom, Yisrael Katz and the other senior Likud MKs – even the prime minister himself – want to see the destruction of the settlements. These are not Peace Now fanatics. They are part of the Jewish majority, members of the National Camp whose hearts are in the right place. But when they reach the crossroads where the fate of the settlements must be determined; when more than mere help is needed; when they reach the crossroads where true leadership is needed to change the train's direction – they cannot help.

The bottom line is that the only alternative for the Right is the faith-based option. Why was this writer the only candidate who dared run against Netanyahu in this winter's primaries for the chairmanship of the Likud? Is everyone else in the Likud weak-kneed?

Not at all. But everyone knew that whoever would run against Netanyahu was politically shooting himself in the foot. Running against Netanyahu (my own candidacy included) was deemed political suicide. That means that a true reason of essence was necessary to justify running – a reason beyond politics. Only I presented a real alternative and that is why I was the only candidate to face off against Netanyahu.

The same is true of the struggle for the Land of Israel. When it gets to the point that continued support of the settlements will be deemed political suicide, the Likud MKs will need an alternative support that will provide them with a different ideology and leadership. That is the only way that they will be able to continue to fight. As long as that support does not exist, nobody can expect them to do more than they are doing now.

Have we created that alternative support? There is no doubt that we have been creating an alternative for the past 15 years. We are now in the critical stage of establishing grass-roots connections. Without those direct connections between the various Likud activists, our alternative will remain ungrounded. But there is no connection between the factions without connections between the faction leaders. And the faction leaders, sadly, have failed in the past.

Those who want to make life easy will once again repeat the erroneous Effie Eitam paradigm. Once again they will register for their own small party that will split up once more and run in the next elections with a different name. As the old saying goes: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! Religious Zionist politics is once again leading its voters down the same, fallacious path. The same mistakes have been made over and over again, in innovative variations, beginning from the days of the Techiyah party. Whoever is duped again has only himself to blame.

Back to the settlements. The Oslo train cannot be turned around without true leadership and an alternative track. There will be no new settlements in Judea and Samaria, no return to the glorious pioneering days, no new Ma'aleh Adumim or Ariel and no new neighborhoods inside those towns until the change is made. But the destruction can be stopped. The strategic change that is necessary is to establish new, faith-based leadership that is not dependent on the established leadership that seeks to destroy the settlements. 

The pioneers of Migron and Giv'at Asaf, the new generation of settlers, well understood that the struggle for their settlements was not purely tactical. They understood that the issue was not Migron and not even the Ulpana Hill. They realized that they were the first domino on the way to something total. They were willing to embark on a real struggle that would turn the destruction of their settlements into a political liability that would protect the next settlements slated for destruction.

The legal status of most of the settlers in the Binyamin region is identical to that of the Ulpana Hill. The foreign conqueror of Judea and Samaria – King Abdullah of Jordan, bequeathed the territories that he had conquered to his grandson, Hussein. Hussein in turn generously allocated the robbed spoils to anyone who would be gracious enough to take them. In this way, most of the lands in Judea and Samaria were registered to private owners. The State of Israel decided to accept this state of affairs as engraved in stone. Even when the "owners" of the lands had left the country decades ago and the land is considered absentee property (which is why Peace Now has not managed to bring claimants for the property in question) Israel's government decides to destroy the settlement (Giv'at Assaf, in this case).

In other words, this is just the promo for the destruction of all the settlements. The Left is working wisely; it is progressing incrementally, fully synchronized with its people in the State's Attorney's office and the High Court. They know that too great of an achievement all at once could torpedo all their gains. But after the destruction of these small settlements, we will once again be hearing from Peace Now in Ofra, Shilo and the rest of the towns in the Binyamin region.

What can we do? It looks like the Outpost Law will be debated in the Knesset next week. Until then, each and every one of us must do all that is possible to convince the MKs and ministers to vote in favor of the law. But as above, at a time of strategic decisions, additional forces must come on the scene in order to ensure the desired results. Without the pressure of a real grass-roots struggle that can create a political liability, all the lobbying may go the way of Gush Katif. Both the political and extra-parliamentary routes must be employed to pass the Outpost Law. When the decision makers believe that the threat of a real struggle is not hanging over their heads, their fear of the Left will naturally be greater than their fear of the settlers.
 



Friday, May 25, 2012

From Yad Vashem Zionism to Temple Zionism


Some people still think that the reason that our national train continues to speed down the Oslo track is because of the people at the helm. Begin surrendered the Sinai Peninsula because he was tricked. Netanyahu hugged Arafat because he is pliable. Sharon destroyed Gush Katif because he is corrupt. And the list goes on. But the truth is just the opposite. The Right continues to slide down the slippery slope of the "peace process" not because of the weakness of its leaders but despite the fact that its leaders are eminently capable. Who can compare to Menachem Begin's dedication to the Nation of Israel? Who is a greater war hero and builder of the Land than Sharon? And can we really compare the human gallery that the other parties have to offer to the talent of Binyamin Netanyahu? Netanyahu likes to boast of the achievements of his ministers, and he is right. The executive arm of this government is functioning well and Israel enjoys one of the most professional and effective governments that it has ever known.

We should not be searching for the failure of the Right in its chosen leaders, but rather in its ideology. The ideology of the classic Right must ultimately drag it to destruction. For the political Right is the right hand of Zionism. And Zionism's current creed, that it "has no connection to religion" is really much more appropriate to the Left than to the Right. That is the root of the reason why Zionist legitimacy remains with the Left despite the fact that the majority of Israelis are rightist and traditional.

What was the idea, the tremendous force that established the State of Israel against all odds? What was the spirit that restored the Nation of Israel to history? It was the shaking off of religion that was considered – justifiably – to be the noose hanging the Jew above reality, never allowing the Jewish Nation to connect with the ground under its feet.

And here I must provide a short explanation for those readers who have raised an eyebrow: When the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, the national Jewish connection to reality was sundered. The Temple, the perfection of the world in the Kingdom of the Almighty, is the ultimate purpose of our national existence; it is also the axis around which the daily lives of the individual and the collective revolved. The Temple provided a timeline, the thrice yearly ascent to Jerusalem, an entire annual cycle of life.

Jewish sovereignty without the Temple is like a state without a capital, a parliament, national holidays – without anything. Religion in its present configuration was the most successful start-up in history; the virtualization of the Nation of Israel; it was the preservation of its national existence outside reality until its return to Zion and the building of the Temple.

But in the course of 2,000 years the virtualization became an existential consciousness. The Lamentations that we recite on the 9th of Av have their set place on our bookshelves, ready and waiting for the next year. The Mashiach has been transformed from the symbol of vibrant Judaism interacting with every level of reality into a non-intrusive Santa Clause who makes no demands. And who is also the greatest delayer of the coming of the Mashiach.

The Zionists who cut the religion umbilical cord suddenly felt the earth under their feet; they sensed it responding to the national flexing of muscles. Suddenly, we were a normal nation. A monumental redemptive energy that was suppressed for 2,000 years burst forth after the disconnection from religion. That energy carried the Zionist revolution on its back. It inflated the sails of the ship until after the Yom Kippur War, Entebbe and the Right's victory in the 1977 elections - and that was the end.

It was only logical that when the Zionist spirit dissipated, it was specifically the Right that led the great retreats. For while Begin did retain the strong nationalism of Jabotinsky, what connection did he have to the Sinai? Not the Left's plow and not the Bible. He hurriedly called upon Laborites Moshe Dayan and Ezer Weitzman to join him so that he would enjoy legitimacy for the move that looked like the end of Zionism, but was really its natural outcome; the actualization of the dream of normalcy. The self-destruction mechanism built in to Zionism was triggered. IDF bulldozers destroyed an entire chain of settlements in the Sinai. Now they are on their way to Ulpana Hill. Moshe Dayan was replaced by Ehud Barak, Weitzman by Shaul Mofaz – the principle was determined then.

When the floodgates were opened by Begin, the Left had nothing to do but to become more and more radical. So in a right-left-right-left movement – the right hand dismantling and the left hand pushing and pulling - Zionism was pushed closer and closer to the edge of the abyss.

In truth, when G-d is outside the game, this is the only possible outcome. We can consider ourselves great heroes, real "killers" who will always defeat the entire world. But there is a limit to how much the lone sheep can continue to live surrounded by all the wolves.

Much more important: When there was (Zionist) spirit, the pre-State Palmach fighter thought that he would always prevail – and he was right. But when Zionism melted and G-d remained outside, the only thing that brings the people out into the streets is the lower price of Israeli chocolate in London, normal and comfortable existence and nothing beyond that. When no alternative leadership holds up a vision of destiny, the only thing the public can expect from the leadership is to calm the situation at any price; to sustain its connection to the world; to preserve normalcy; to neutralize any landmines that may smear our uniqueness right back into our faces. Simply put, the public expects its leaders to retreat, retreat and retreat from any possible battlefront. Ulpana Hill, security prisoners, Ahmadinijad, the Shalit deal: Without destiny, all that is left is to retreat to the constantly shrinking remnants of existence.

Now we have the broadest coalition ever in Israel searching for meaning. It wants maximum governability and minimum destiny; maximum economy and security and minimum international legitimacy.

It is not the leaders of the Right. It is much bigger than them. It is the spirit that is missing. We must progress from the Zionism of existence to the Zionism of destiny; from Zionism of Holocaust memorial Yad-Vashem to Zionism of the Temple.

Ominous Deja Vu: By Moshe Feiglin


Unease. Déjà vu from Sharon's great Expulsion. It began with an article by Hagai Segal, who depicted the insistence of the residents of Migron not to move from their current location as a sort of childish stubbornness; as if they were picking a fight instead of accepting a solution. After all, Kedumim was founded after it was moved from its original location and ultimately it grew into an anchor settlement with satellite settlements around it. So how dare those 'children' of Migron, who never heard of settler leader Zambish, think otherwise?

After reading that article, I already began to feel that we lost: Migron, Ulpana Hill, it doesn't really matter what exactly will happen on the ground. Just like in Gush Katif, the on the ground struggle is really just make-believe. The real decisions on the fate of the settlements are being made in an entirely different place where the principle has already been determined – or to be more specific – preserved. Now it is just a question of price. The deal is really being closed between the settler leaders with the same old Sebastia/Kfar Maimon mentality and the Prime Minister's advisors.

I spent this week running to meetings with the Likud ministers, trying to convince them to vote in favor of the "Ulpana Law". They are all truly in favor of settlement. They genuinely do not want to see it destroyed. They want to help any way they can. But somehow, I left each meeting with a sinking feeling. Now as then, the real battlefield is above our heads, in a completely different place.

In a lively two-hour conversation, one of the ministers analyzed the entire scheme of considerations and pressures with which the government is dealing. He left no stone unturned as he explained the facts in detail and analyzed them once again. But he gave me no answer.

When we got up to leave, I said to him, "You know, there is a certain moment in which all the right answers are no longer relevant. The political outcome is really not important. The interests of A and the apprehensions of B make no difference; how C will react and what will transpire this way or that are irrelevant. There is a certain space that you enter, without even realizing that you are there. But if you continue from that space to make all of these logical calculations, you lose everything."

"That is true," said the minister (a truly brilliant man) "but we are not in that space."

And then I understood the problem. The problem is that "we are not in that space." And we are not there because of the same mentality that plagued us in Gush Katif. The destruction of Migron and the Ulpana Hill don't move us into that space: They are still being represented by the same Yesha Council, whose very existence will always ensure that we do not reach the space in which the settlers and their tens of thousands of supporters will embark on a genuine struggle to save their Land.

We all had a role to play in Gush Katif. We thought that we were going to Kfar Maimon to battle the Expulsion. But in truth, we were all actors in a make-believe struggle. Everything was already decided before we started out. Our role was to play a bit with the army. The army's role was to be sensitive and determined. Afterwards, we cried. It was everything but a struggle. The role of the Yesha Council was to ensure that we would never get to that space – to the genuine struggle.

The entire settler establishment is dependent on government funding. Even more, it is mentally dependent on the government. It is dependent on its ability to provide the goods; to ensure that the minister will always answer, "We are not there yet."

They refuse to understand that Judea and Samaria are "out;" that the reality has changed since the good old days of Sebastia and Menachem Begin. Today, an underground tunnel is being dug for a train between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The most logical and direct route for the tunnel is along highway 443. But that highway is in "Palestinian" territory and thus the tunnel will tortuously wind through the hills ascending to Jerusalem.

Judea and Samaria no longer exist in Israel's long-term plans. All they are is a huge white blotch in the middle of the map of Israel. This is the reality in which we have allowed the Left to corner us. They built a political border fence in the name of security; they created a new reality on the ground without asking anybody. All that is left now is to slowly gnaw away at the settlements until the opportunity for the final blow presents itself. The only new settlement currently being built by Israel is Ruabi – for the Arabs.

True, in the midst of this strategic process, Zambish can still get authorization for a public building here and to finish construction that had already been approved there. But the strategic picture is the negative of the gleeful days of Sebastia. The enticement to remain on good terms with the establishment, the source of the Yesha Council's power, blinds them to the necessity to fight it.

Currently, the settlement leadership is legitimizing the establishment that strives to destroy it. This situation requires us to fight against even the smallest blow to the settlements; to relate to the demand to move one caravan one centimeter as if it was the destruction of Ma'aleh Adumim. The settlers are being led to their destruction by leadership that is incapable of understanding reality. They will always agree to all types of arrangements; they will always buy short term relief in exchange for long term existence; they will always hasten the end instead of distancing it; they will twist and turn with Begin in Migron and will bring the bulldozers closer to the Ulpana Hill.

When Migron will G-d forbid be destroyed, or when the homes on Ulpana Hill will be sealed or even worse (or whatever "creative solution" they will reach there) the Yesha Council will decry the destruction. Nobody expects otherwise. Their role is to ensure that there will be no genuine struggle; that there will be no public atmosphere of doing everything possible for the cause. They will ensure that we will once again be dragged from our homes like harmless sacks of potatoes, while the country will continue with business as usual. Our rightist journalists will write terrible things about Netanyahu. Our Likud members will run from one minister to the next. The hilltop youth will continue to hate the state; our wonderful children will sneak into Migron in the middle of the night and wage a heroic and boring battle: Everyone will play his role in the grand drama whose finale has already been written.

What can you do? Circumvent Zambish. If you need funding for your settlement, turn directly to the relevant minister. Stop paying taxes to Amanah (the settlement organization). Do not vote for a local candidate who does not commit himself to stop funding Amanah. Understand that what made the Expulsion possible then, is making it possible today.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Political Party or Empty Shell?: By Moshe Feiglin


25 Iyar, 5772
May 17, '12

Is the Prime Minister's "brilliant move" just the opening shot? Is his next move an attempt to inject the Kadimah MKs into the Likud? Or is the PM planning another Sharon-style bombshell, such as enticing MKs from the Likud to join him, Kadimah and Barak's party to form a new balloon party?

We all hope that these are not Netanyahu's plans. We cannot, however, ignore the worrisome signs and the great temptation that threatens to push the PM to make such a move.

The simple and logical solution for the Ulpana Hill neighborhood is to enact legislation to legalize the construction there. But that solution is being torpedoed by the PM. This means that his grand coalition has not afforded him enough power to stand up to the pressure of the media and the Left. From our past experiences we know that in situations like this, the Likud's leaders usually turn sharply left.

"Perhaps your power is your downfall?" Avri Gilad asked me in an interview on Channel 2. "Maybe Netanyahu will leave the Likud because of you, establish a new party and leave you with the empty shell?"

"That is exactly what Sharon did to Netanyahu," I answered. "Everyone talked about the empty shell that Sharon left for Netanyahu. But now it is plain to see that the Likud is actually the party that rebounded, while Sharon's Kadimah is the empty shell.

Nothing can last long without meaning; certainly not a political party that is supposed to be predicated on an ideology. That is why a party like Kadimah, founded on opportunism and essential corruption, or a party based on hatred of the Haredi public - cannot survive for long.

What gives the Likud its surprising vitality and resilience? Its members. The Likud is a traditional, popular party that faithfully represents the Nation of Israel and takes responsibility to lead it.

Sometimes, a leader can become confused and think that it is not the party that carries him, but just the opposite. A person who rules on the basis of that erroneous presumption can certainly succeed at first. But in no time, it will turn out that he is not equipped with the roots of a real party that will hold him strong in the stormy wind.

How can we prevent these dark predictions from coming true? First of all, at this point we are talking about no more than concern. As long as nothing comes of it, we will strengthen and assist the Likud government and its head in all of their positive undertakings.

However, we must make our concern public: Let our Knesset representatives know that we are attentively watching and waiting to hear what they plan to do if the above scenario plays itself out. The more that this potential move is publicly discussed and the more the ministers and MKs publicize their positions, the less chance that a new "big bang" will actually take place in Israeli politics.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Citizen Army?

The model of the “Citizen Army” no longer exists, and its very incomplete implementation causes damage: It doesn’t take into account the modern battlefield, prevents efficiency in the IDF, hurts Israel’s economic power, and stands against the principles of a free society. A professional army of volunteers would be much more efficient, provide better security, and provide the leadership with much political leeway.



Mahar Magazine

Elections, Haredi Draft?

Here we go Again: Elections

Elections are once again upon us and before the general elections, the Likud will be holding primaries for its Knesset roster, which promise to be high-pressured and extremely competitive.

This time, there will be 27 current Knesset Members competing for 19 slots on the national list, as opposed to 12 MKs the last time. It is shaping up to be an all-out battle. Apparently, Moshe Feiglin will be one of only two candidates for the national list who are not currently serving MKs.

Moshe's election is extremely important to advance the ideas for which we joined the Likud and politics. It is a realistic and significant opportunity and we must mobilize all our energies and courage to succeed. Moshe Feiglin's candidacy is much more than the candidacy of just another loyal MK – there are many of those, thank G-d. Feiglin in the Knesset sends an important and refreshing message. It is the beginning of the creation of a new leadership – a faith-based leadership for the National Camp and for the State of Israel.

And now for some voting information: As the Likud primaries are rapidly approaching, the Likud voting book will soon be sealed. Now is the time for Likud members to make sure that they are eligible to vote and where they will be voting.

Voting Eligibility and Voting Place
Click here to check your voting eligibility and your polling place:  Enter you ID number into the box, submit and you will get your answer in Hebrew.
 
Change of Address and Voting Place
If you have moved to a new address and want to vote near your new residence, you must notify the Likud that you want to register in a new Likud branch. To do so, please take the following simple steps:

1. Copy your Israeli identity card, including the part where your address appears.
2. On the copy, at the top of the page write: I would like to vote in the Likud branch near my home, or in Hebrew: מבקש לעבור לסניף במקום מגורי
3. Sign your request and fax it to the Likud computer department at 03-6210771.
4. Call 03-6210604 to make sure that your fax has been received.


Register for the Likud
http://www.mflikud.co.il/contents/hitpakdut/hitpakdut.pdf
 
Haredi Draft?: By Moshe Feiglin

11 Iyar, 5772
May 3, '12

The Knesset factions are in pursuit of legislation that will institute equal draft into the IDF – but something is fishy. The New Israel Fund's propaganda has made inroads, and it looks like the upcoming elections will focus on Haredi-bashing.

It is true that the issue of Haredi enlistment in the IDF must be resolved in a fair and equal manner. But it looks like the new legislation is not a means, but rather, an end unto itself.

So what is the solution?

First, we must understand the problem: The problem is not lack of manpower in the IDF. The IDF is not really interested in the enlistment of thousands of Haredi conscripts. The problem is that it is not fair to exempt people from the army on a communal basis.

Another aspect of the problem is that there are many Haredim who are not really capable of learning all day and into the night – just like in any other sector. But those Haredim who are registered at yeshivas cannot work because the exemption from enlistment requires them to remain within the walls of their institutions of higher learning.

To solve the problem, we must get to its roots and ask ourselves if the IDF must really draft by coercion. In Mahar magazine we showed that a mandatory draft is not necessary and that Israel pays a high price in the economic, social and mainly security realms to preserve the ethos of the "People's Army." A professional, volunteer army will enhance security, cost less and will make the mandatory draft – for Haredim, radical leftists and other sectors who do not want to enlist – irrelevant.

This solution, however, is not currently accepted by Israeli society, that has always been nurtured on the ethos of the "People's Army." This ethos serves the ruling elites, who do not want to yield the tremendous power that comes along with the ability to forcibly induct people into the army. As such, the true solution will have to wait, and we must find an interim solution.

We can accept any law that will truly increase equality. This law must be approved by a broad consensus – both by the Haredim and the Arabs. It is important to understand that the Haredim are not afraid of the draft, but rather, from the attempts to override their traditions and customs by means of the army. This apprehension is not at all unfounded. If the IDF will convince the Haredim of the purity of its motives and will create a service framework for them that will not undermine all that is holy to them – it will be a huge blessing – first and foremost for the Haredim.
 
Video: Moshe Feiglin: Professional Volunteer Army for Israel

Click here for this video, in Hebrew with an English transcript:

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Beware: Feiglinism Poised to Bring Peace: By Moshe Feiglin


3 Iyar, 5772
April 25, '12

This is how it works: A minister or MK who steps out of line; opposing the destruction of the Ulpana neighborhood, for example, is immediately accused of 'Feiglinism.' The accuser can be Tzippy Livni or Ehud Barak; it makes no difference. "This is simply terrible!" Kadimah MK Nachman Shai explained on the afternoon news. "Feiglin determines the fate of the Likud MKs."

"Feiglin" has become a code word for illegitimacy. When someone is accused of Feiglinism, the accuser no longer has to logically argue his point. "Beware," said Defense Minister Barak to Strategic Affairs Minister Ya'alon, "If you continue to promote this view, you will be field marshaled by the Politically Correct Patrol."

Is the balloon that the media inflate around Manhigut Yehudit real? Do we really determine political fate? What is the real influence of Manhigut Yehudit and of other ideological factions in the Likud?

There is no doubt that all of these factions do exert influence. But that influence is far less than what the media attribute to them. True, there will be borderline candidates whose fate will be determined by our votes. But essentially, we are no different than any other voter or voting group in the Likud. Countless groups, large and small, organize and coordinate their votes. This is the situation in almost every Likud branch. Approximately 50% of the Likud voters are part of an organized group. According to the numbers, Manhigut Yehudit is certainly an important influence within the Likud, but not as great as portrayed by the media. A diligent and capable MK will be able to get himself elected with or without Manhigut Yehudit.

But numbers are not the whole picture. Essence is. Livni, Barak and all the other 'Feiglinism' alarmists are painfully aware that there is a real alternative growing in the Likud. The Likud is in power today because it is an authentic popular party with higher quality leaders. No other party has a leader who even nears the talent and experience of Binyamin Netanyahu.

On issues of essence, though, there is no real difference between the various major parties; not in foreign affairs and practically not in economics. With a bit of political savvy (social unrest plus a few media spins) the Opposition may actually manage to overthrow the Likud and to make Shaul Mufaz the new prime minister.

The person who is an essential threat to the Shimon Peres agenda that has been forced upon Israeli society since Oslo is none other than this writer. It is much more difficult to spin essence away. That is why they keep yelling about the contagious Feiglinism.

"What is your peace plan?" I was asked this week at a Likud meeting in rocket-weary Ashkelon.
"It is very simple," I answered. "The Arabs will hear that Feiglin is prime minister, and there will be peace."

That is not bragging; it is simply the truth. Today, we do not have peace because the Arabs have nobody to make peace with. The Arabs have caught on to our "just passing through" mentality, reflected by Israel's leaders from all the parties. To make peace, you need a partner. Only the landowner can be a peace partner – and only if he is convinced and convincing that he has no intention of giving his land up. But if we are only passing through here, there is nobody to make peace with. If there is a problem with a guest, everybody just tries to hasten his departure.

Those who are truly committed to peace should do all they can to ensure that Feiglinism spreads far and wide.
 
Moshe Feiglin on Temple Mount Awareness Broadcast






Be sure to watch this powerful video of Moshe Feiglin interviewed on the Temple Mount Awareness broadcast.






 
Is there a Vaccine for Feiglinism? By Shmuel Sackett

During the past week, Moshe's name has been all over the news.
This stems from the fact that the "Ulpana" neighborhood in Bet El has been slated for destruction, as per the orders of Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Leading the fight against this destruction are the ministers of Likud.
Barak claims that these ministers are acting this way because of the pressure placed upon them by Moshe Feiglin.
All kidding aside, this is probably the ONE TRUE THING that Ehud Barak has said in the last 20 years!!!

We are not complaining about WHAT he is saying – since it is 100% true – we are merely enjoying the WAY he is saying it!

Here are my favorite 2 quotes from today's news:

Haaretz:
"Ministers Yisrael Katz and Bogey Ya'alon have fallen ill with SERIOUS FEIGLINISM"

YNET (the official website of Yediot Aharonot)
"We hope – for the good of the public and its elected officials – that FEIGLINISM does not turn out to be CONTAGIOUS"

I have to admit that we haven't laughed like this in a long time!
Heck - we are now a DISEASE!!!

Therefore, to all those afflicted with this disease, allow me to say two things:
1. May you NOT have a Refuah She'layma!!!
2. May this disease grow and grow and grow.
 
The Ulpana Neighborhood

Manhigut Yehudit has quite a lot to do with the positive developments in the Ulpana neighborhood of Beit El. Just as Manhigut was a driving force behind the important emergency meeting held there on Sunday to avoid its demolition, we will continue to use our political power in the battle to save any and every settlement in the Land of Israel.

But we must not be blinded by the tactical success in the Ulpana neighborhood. The danger has not passed at all. So far, we are fighting to ensure that the Ulpana neighborhood will regain the status once enjoyed by Neveh Dekalim in Gush Katif.

Even if the government's request to postpone the demolition of the Ulpana neighborhood is accepted by the High Court, and even if settlements like Sansana are to be officially authorized – nothing has changed in principle. Our status in Israel's heartland is still that of foreign occupiers. This is what former Chief Justice Aharon Barak decided when he defined Judea and Samaria as territory under "belligerent occupation." This position has been adopted by all the State's representatives. If we do not make an essential change, when the next "window of opportunity" for a "disengagement" comes along, it will be carried out.

 
Manhigut Yehudit in the News

Jewish Press: 1 Iyar/April 23
We're all Feiglinists, Especially Feiglin
Israel National News: 29 Nissan/April 21
Barak Sources: Ya'alon and Katz are 'Feiglinist' Hardliners

 
Save the Date for the Manhigut Yehudit US Dinner
Save the date!

A date has been set for Manhigut Yehudit's 10th annual dinner in New York!

June 5th – the 15th of Sivan – Just one week after Shavuot

Terrace on the Park (next to Laguardia airport) in Queens, NY (same location as last year)

More details coming soon.
 Get the Word Out!

Our weekly update now comes in different exciting and useful forms and versions.  We urge you to try out both of these versions to see which one suits you better - or you can certainly use both!
Click here for a full version print PDF.  Easy to view and print, this version also makes it easy to copy and paste articles in order to use them on your blogs, websites or emails.
Manhigut Yehudit's US Director, Rob Muchnick, creates his own weekly 2-page full-color pdf newsletter, called "Rob's Shul Newsletter" (which really stands out on the table of handouts in your shul). In it are included most or all of the articles in the Weekly Update, plus additional commentary, pictures, quotes and articles by Rob - with his own down-to-earth, sharp and sometimes irreverent style.
You can help get the Manhigut Yehudit message out to the world! Print out the update in the version of your choice and distribute it in your synagogue, community center, workplace or neighborhood. Be part of the Jewish leadership revolution and help to make Israel the Jewish state we've always dreamed of. The links to both versions are always at the top of this update email.
 
Feedback

We'd love to hear your feedback. Click here to send us your comments and questions. Thank you!
 
Join the Team!

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?
If you are already a Likud member and you would like to check your membership status, just email us at: shir@manhigut.org. Be sure to include your name, Israeli ID No., and a phone number where it is easiest to reach you. Or give us a call at our  "English Speakers" office: 02-996-1123 (Israel), or 516-620-2475 (USA).

If you are not Israeli citizen, you can  become a Manhigut Yehudit International Member. Joining Manhigut Yehudit International is much more than just a donation. Now you're part of the team!  If you are interested in arranging a lecture or meeting in your community with Moshe Feiglin or Shmuel Sackett, either in Israel or in the USA, please contact Dovid Shirel at shir@manhigut.org, or call: 02-996-1123 (Israel) or 516-620-2475 (USA).
 

Manhigut Yehudit
The Jewish Leadership Movement
Email: office@jewishisrael.org
Web: www.jewishisrael.org
Tel: 02-996-1123 (Israel); 516-620-2475 (USA)
 
Our Aim: To perfect the world in the Kingdom of the Almighty















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