It's been a couple of weeks since the Likud primaries, and most of the dust seems to have settled.
In summary, the Likud membership selected a powerful array of candidates who have declared and demonstrated loyalty to Eretz Yisrael. Only through the dirtiest machinations and abuses of democracy did Netanyahu manage to shunt Moshe Feiglin from 20th place to 36th. At this writing it is still unclear as to whether Michi Ratzon's appeal against his demotion (collateral damage with Feiglin) will bear fruit; either way, Feiglin won a huge moral and PR victory. For a solid week, he was the top news item in Israel; every news agency was filled with interviews and quotations from Feiglin.
And most importantly, once given the opportunity to present his own case, Feiglin was outstanding at winning over people's hearts and minds. Just reading the talkbacks to every article that dealt with him, whether on Haaretz, Ynet or NRG, it was staggering to see what proportion of people support him! Well over 50% of talkbackers have been supportive of Feiglin - and this on the most left-wing of news sites!
I sense that a major sea change has come over Israel. The people are finally getting access to a point of view that to date has been blackballed by the mainstream media - and they like it! It may well be that Moshe Feiglin does not get a seat in the coming Knesset, but this is of secondary importance. What really matters is that the media embargo of Feiglin and his views has been broken, and the people of Israel, when presented with an alternative to the suicidal path of Oslo, "land for peace" etc., are ready for the change.
In summary, the Likud membership selected a powerful array of candidates who have declared and demonstrated loyalty to Eretz Yisrael. Only through the dirtiest machinations and abuses of democracy did Netanyahu manage to shunt Moshe Feiglin from 20th place to 36th. At this writing it is still unclear as to whether Michi Ratzon's appeal against his demotion (collateral damage with Feiglin) will bear fruit; either way, Feiglin won a huge moral and PR victory. For a solid week, he was the top news item in Israel; every news agency was filled with interviews and quotations from Feiglin.
And most importantly, once given the opportunity to present his own case, Feiglin was outstanding at winning over people's hearts and minds. Just reading the talkbacks to every article that dealt with him, whether on Haaretz, Ynet or NRG, it was staggering to see what proportion of people support him! Well over 50% of talkbackers have been supportive of Feiglin - and this on the most left-wing of news sites!
I sense that a major sea change has come over Israel. The people are finally getting access to a point of view that to date has been blackballed by the mainstream media - and they like it! It may well be that Moshe Feiglin does not get a seat in the coming Knesset, but this is of secondary importance. What really matters is that the media embargo of Feiglin and his views has been broken, and the people of Israel, when presented with an alternative to the suicidal path of Oslo, "land for peace" etc., are ready for the change.
But it's not going to happen in these elections.
The Israeli Knesset elections of 10 February 2009 are not so much a referendum on the direction of the country, as a vote on which bunch of losers is the least likely to accelerate Israel towards the abyss. Barak, Livni and Netanyahu do not disagree about the paradigm of leadership, only about the price at which they are willing (and desperate) to sell off Israel's strategic and historical assets. Whoever wins these elections, my most likely scenario is that, like the last n governments, the coming one will disintegrate in a matter of 2 years or so.
And that, dear friends, is what we need to start preparing for - now.
When the next government falls, there will be new primaries in the Likud, to choose the leader of the party. Around 100,000 people - the membership of the Likud - have the right to choose what face they will present to the Israeli electorate. Only about 50% of those people actually vote, meaning that 50,000 people will select the prime ministerial candidate and Knesset list, for whom (I'm guessing) roughly 3,000,000 people will have to option to vote.
Let that sink in: about 3,000,000 voters are only entering the political game at the stage when the candidates have already been chosen. If you don't like the options on display, tough noogies - you just gotta hold your nose and vote for the least bad option. Moreover, each individual's vote is a tiny fraction of the total electorate. On the other hand, a mere 100,000 Likud voters are going to have the option of choosing, for the first time in history, a leader of the Likud who is Yarei Shamayim, who believes in the justice of the cause of the Jewish people, who views Jewish history as having started with Avraham Avinu and not Theodore Herzl - and who will be able to lead our nation in the spirit of the Torah.
This is not just a nice-to-have. It's all very well voting for your favorite sectoral party and hoping that they'll be able to influence the government - but while the splinter religious and right-wing parties are bickering and haggling over their little patch of turf, the leadership of Israel is continuing to accelerate our national train towards the precipice of disaster. We are in the midst of a national emergency, and if we are to survive we desperately need leadership, not self-interested kingmakers.
If you really care about the future of Israel, and you really want to make a practical difference to the direction that this country is taking, then stop being a spectator and become a player. Join the Likud. It costs all of 96 NIS a year for a couple, or 64 NIS for one person. You can only vote once you've been a member in good standing for 16 months, so now is the time! If you sign up now, you will be in a position to vote when the next primaries come around... and you will have the power to determine the future of Israel by selecting a worthy leader for Israel's ruling party. With enough like-minded people joining the party, we can realize this dream.
Don't let your yetzer hora start making excuses for you. This is a time for action, and you can be a part of the revolution that will change the face of Israeli leadership.
Click here, print out the form, fill it in and fax it to the number provided.
Eis laasos laShem. Do it now.
When the next government falls, there will be new primaries in the Likud, to choose the leader of the party. Around 100,000 people - the membership of the Likud - have the right to choose what face they will present to the Israeli electorate. Only about 50% of those people actually vote, meaning that 50,000 people will select the prime ministerial candidate and Knesset list, for whom (I'm guessing) roughly 3,000,000 people will have to option to vote.
Let that sink in: about 3,000,000 voters are only entering the political game at the stage when the candidates have already been chosen. If you don't like the options on display, tough noogies - you just gotta hold your nose and vote for the least bad option. Moreover, each individual's vote is a tiny fraction of the total electorate. On the other hand, a mere 100,000 Likud voters are going to have the option of choosing, for the first time in history, a leader of the Likud who is Yarei Shamayim, who believes in the justice of the cause of the Jewish people, who views Jewish history as having started with Avraham Avinu and not Theodore Herzl - and who will be able to lead our nation in the spirit of the Torah.
This is not just a nice-to-have. It's all very well voting for your favorite sectoral party and hoping that they'll be able to influence the government - but while the splinter religious and right-wing parties are bickering and haggling over their little patch of turf, the leadership of Israel is continuing to accelerate our national train towards the precipice of disaster. We are in the midst of a national emergency, and if we are to survive we desperately need leadership, not self-interested kingmakers.
If you really care about the future of Israel, and you really want to make a practical difference to the direction that this country is taking, then stop being a spectator and become a player. Join the Likud. It costs all of 96 NIS a year for a couple, or 64 NIS for one person. You can only vote once you've been a member in good standing for 16 months, so now is the time! If you sign up now, you will be in a position to vote when the next primaries come around... and you will have the power to determine the future of Israel by selecting a worthy leader for Israel's ruling party. With enough like-minded people joining the party, we can realize this dream.
Don't let your yetzer hora start making excuses for you. This is a time for action, and you can be a part of the revolution that will change the face of Israeli leadership.
Click here, print out the form, fill it in and fax it to the number provided.
Eis laasos laShem. Do it now.
