Moshe Feiglin first house in Metula
Moshe Feiglin,
Founder and President of Manhigut Yehudit, is determined to provide
Israel with the authentic Jewish leadership that it so desperately
needs. As Prime Minister of Israel, he will lead the nation to its
Jewish destiny with authentic Jewish values and concepts.
Roots in the Land of Israel
The
Feiglin family’s roots were planted in the Land of Israel during the
“First Aliyah.” In 1889, Moshe Feiglin’s ancestors immigrated to Israel
in order to fulfill the Torah commandment to live in the Land. The
Feiglins were among the pioneers who established the first settlements
in Israel’s north – Mishmar Hayarden, Hadera, Kinneret and more. Moshe
Feiglin’s grandfather, Avraham, was the first child born in Metulah.
Natural Connection
Although
the Feiglins who had originally arrived in Israel as pioneers were
Torah observant, not all of their descendants remained so. By the
beginning of the twentieth century, part of the Feiglin family had
become non-observant. Moshe Feiglin was born into an extended family
comprised of all the different types of Jews that make up Israeli
society; observant, secular, ultra-Orthodox, Left, Right and just about
everything in between.
Youth
Moshe Feiglin was
born in 1962. He grew up in Rehovot, where he met his wife-to-be Tzippy.
Tzippy and her family had made aliyah to Israel from the United States.
Moshe studied in the Or Etzion high school yeshiva. Although the
religious Hesder army option was popular at the time, he opted to enlist
in the army for the full term of service.Moshe progressed quickly in
the army and became an officer in the engineering corps. He completed
his service after four years, and he and his bride, Tzippy, moved to
Karnei Shomron.
Work
Upon completing his army
service, Moshe opened the first window washing company for high-rise
buildings. The company grew and developed, eventually employing tens of
people. At the beginning of the 90s, Moshe and a partner established a
hi-tech company that developed a unique security product. The company
never took off, though, as it was precisely at that time that Yitzchak
Rabin was elected as prime minister of Israel and signed the Oslo
Accords.
Wake Up Call
Moshe Feiglin immediately
understood the ominous significance of the Oslo Accords and attempted to
warn of the impending danger. The leftist government reacted with
derision to the protests and warnings of the National Camp. The Right’s
ineffectual reaction to the moral and security collapse that Oslo
engendered brought Moshe to the conclusion that he could no longer
continue life as a private person. He left his business and with his
friend Shmuel Sackett, established the Zo Artzeinu protest movement.
With no major organization behind them, with no budget and coming from
total anonymity, Moshe Feiglin and Shmuel Sackett managed to carry out
the largest and most significant protest that the State of Israel had
ever seen. On the 12th of Av, 5755 (August, ’95), approximately one
hundred thousand demonstrators from all sectors of Israel’s society took
to the streets and blocked more than one hundred main intersections in
Israel. The protest paralyzed the country and proved that the nation –
unlike its leaders – was faithful to its land and was not interested in
the embrace of the terror organizations.
Zo Artzeinu
was a huge success and brought Moshe Feiglin into the headlines as a
person with unusual leadership capabilities. Even his opponents admitted
that Feiglin represented a phenomenon never before witnessed on the
Israeli scene.
1996: Major Factor in Political Turn About
Despite
the success of Zo Artzeinu, Moshe Feiglin did not seek any political
gain. He was immediately arrested, refused the services of defense
attorneys and together with Shmuel Sackett and Rabbi Benny Elon, was put
on trial for sedition. Proceedings against Rabbi Elon were terminated
when he was elected to the Knesset. Feiglin could have easily chosen the
same path. He could have taken advantage of the tremendous public
credit that he had accrued, gotten himself elected to the Knesset in one
of the right wing parties and elegantly saved his own skin. But Feiglin
is a true leader. “There is no way that I will lead people in a
struggle and then find my own personal escape hatch to avoid the
consequences,” he said and paid the price in full.
Instead
of running for the Knesset in a small party, Zo Artzeinu used its deep
grass roots support to help the Likud’s Binyamin Netanyahu win the
elections against Shimon Peres. Zo Artzeinu volunteers manned the
intersections throughout Israel, handing out Netanyahu leaflets in an
all out effort to bring the Right into power. The hard work of the
Jewish majority public tipped the scales and Netanyahu narrowly won the
elections. Ironically though, Feiglin’s sedition trial continued
throughout the years of the Likud’s rule. Instead of sitting in the
Knesset, Moshe sat in the courtrooms. He was ultimately sentenced to six
months of community service.
Writer
During those
years, Moshe Feiglin wrote his first book, “Where there are no Men.”
The book was published in Hebrew, English and Russian. Moshe’s articles
began to appear in the media. The Jewish majority public began to
integrate his opinions and outlook into its own world view and Moshe
became a sought-after speaker throughout the world.
Moshe
Feiglin’s second book, “The War of Dreams,” is 530 pages of selections
of the hundreds of articles that he has written. The articles span an
eight year period – from 1997 to the Disengagement in 2005. Feiglin’s
impressive prescience is apparent in the book. In his articles, he
concluded that the Hizbollah would shoot missiles at Haifa three years
before it actually happened and predicted that the US army would become
hopelessly embroiled in Iraq, explaining precisely why – immediately
after 9/11. When everybody eulogized the Likud as a party of the past,
Moshe explained why it would quickly recover, convincing both his
supporters and opponents that his analyses are to be taken seriously.
Jewish Leadership
When
Netanyahu warmly shook Arafat’s hand and announced that he had found a
friend, he effectively eliminated the opposition to Oslo. It was at that
point that the National Camp – as the Left before it -- accepted the
justice of the Arab claims. When the Right was dragged by Netanyahu into
Oslo, it was no longer capable of establishing an alternative. The
public got used to the fact that when it voted Left, it got Left and
when it voted Right, it got double Left. Naturally, deep despair
followed.
Although a number of right wing parties
attempted to convince Moshe Feiglin to join their ranks, he refused. He
knew that only the party that represents the main sector of Israeli
society – the Likud – can possibly rectify the situation. After the
Likud leadership attached itself to Arafat, Feiglin understood that just
helping the Likud to get elected accomplishes nothing. The Likud,
currently captive to Leftist ideology, must have a leader who will
express its latent Jewish identity. He joined the Likud and immediately
announced that he intended to lead it.
In 1999
Netanyahu lost to the Labor’s Ehud Barak. The Likud seemed to be a
dead-end party. But it was precisely then that Feiglin began his
campaign to convince the public to join the Likud in an effort to
establish authentic Jewish leadership for Israel. Thousands – about half
of whom were settlers in Yesha -- complied and signed up.
In
2003, Moshe Feiglin participated in the Likud primaries for the first
time. He ran against Netanyahu and Sharon and got just 3% of the vote.
Of course, his candidacy then was just symbolic. But he had proven that
he was seriously in the race.
In 2006 the Likud held
primaries once again. There were six candidates beside Feiglin:
Netanyahu, Silvan Shalom, Israel Katz, Uzi Landau, Shaul Mofaz and Limor
Linat.
This time, Feiglin’s candidacy was not symbolic
at all. As soon as the first polls showed Feiglin bypassing Livnat, she
pulled out of the race. When Feiglin passed then Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz in the polls, he didn’t suffice with reneging on his candidacy;
he left the Likud and joined the Kadima party. When Feiglin passed Uzi
Landau in the polls, Landau left the race and supported Bibi. Feiglin
eventually won third place in the primaries with 13% of the Likud votes.
It was the surprise of the primaries. Despite the fact that all the
other candidates had been ministers and Knesset members, Moshe reached
third place without ever having been in the Knesset. Many Likud members
desperately seek authentic Jewish leadership. In the polling booth, they
voted Feiglin.
Future
”Moshe Feiglin intends to
provide Israel with authentic Jewish leadership. From the leadership
position of the Likud, his goal is to create a National umbrella party
with the Likud at the helm.
“When I will lead the Likud,” he
explains, “I will establish the ‘Jewish Israel’ umbrella party. Who will
vote for the National Union when Feiglin is at the head of the Likud?
Who will vote for the NRP? How many voters will stay with Lieberman? How
many people will come home from Shas? When we establish the National
bloc with the Likud at the head, there will be no choice but to join us.
It will be the greatest victory in the history of the Knesset!
Family Man
Moshe
Feiglin is a family man. He and his wife Tzippy have five children. His
oldest daughter is married, lives in the settlement of Einav and has
turned her father into the youngest grandfather in Israeli politics
Moshe’s
day begins before dawn when he rises for prayers, Torah study and
mountain biking in the Shomron mountains. Between his frequent speaking
engagements and meetings, he still finds time to write, answer the many
letters that he receives and of course – to spend time with his wife and
children.
