The Voice From Hebron Says, "Give New Leadership A Chance"

Give New Leadership A Chance
By David Wilder

Many years ago, following the election of Rabin, when Oslo was still in pre-diapers, and people were looking at each other, in shock, with fear and huge question marks in their eyes, the most common question was: what do we do now.

I remember town meetings, clandestine gatherings, and more than anything else, words. Lots and lots of words. Talk is cheap, it relieves tension, and seems to be a good way to 'virtually' solve problems. If nothing else, talk is a good way to rid yourself of built-up frustrations.

But not everyone talked. I remember the first genuine activity against the Rabin-Peres plans to expel us from our land. What's the best answer to planned expulsion? Of course, expansion.

A new group had popped up out of nowhere called Zu Artzenu. I clearly remember a meeting at a hotel in Jerusalem, where the talk wasn't theoretical. These guys were organized, had a specific agenda and weren't talking doubletalk. It was impressive.

Those guys, as I recall were two: Moshe Feiglin and Shmuel Sackett. I have no recollection of them, at that time, but their first national project, called "Mivtza Machpil" called for expanding all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Not kept a secret, the operation was looked upon by 'the authorities' as a test case: how would they react to organized groups opposing the expulsion policies of Rabin-Peres? I do recall, one cold night, telling my wife that I was going out for a little while to participate in the first Mivtza Machpil operation, in Kiryat Arba. It was a few days before I arrived back home, having later been arrested with a few dozen others, for daring to sit in an abandoned shack within the municipal boundary of Kiryat Arba, but outside the community fence.

I have no idea how many communities actually doubled themselves, but clearly, Mitvtza Machpil was an overwhelming success. Like a foghorn across a zero-visibility sea, the operation screamed out loud and clear: we will not sit back and do nothing as building is outlawed and our land is dismantled.

Zu Artzenu continued planning and implementing other national protests, including a sit-down strike which was to paralyze the state of Israel. For this magnificent show of civil disobedience, Feiglin and Sackett were tried and convicted for sedition. Anyone who still had any illusions of democracy – Rabin-Peres style, were in for a surprise.

Despite their newly labeled, dangerous criminal status, Feiglin and Sackett didn't despair. Such individuals are far from trivial emotions like hopelessness. Just as Zu Artzenu was uniquely impressive and creative, they decided to continue forward. In 1998 they founded Manigut Yehudit, which means "Jewish Leadership." Not the kind of leadership Israel had so long been faced with, but true Jewish leadership, pillared upon Torah and Eretz Yisrael, the fear of G-d, and appreciation and acknowledgement of the Divine sanctity of our homeland. Feiglin continued to surprise, this time, not by going the way of the world and forming a new political party. Rather he, together with Sackett, decided to become a faction within the already existing Likud, with the hope and expectation to 'capture' the party; to create a solid majority of normal, healthy Israelis who realized that peace was preconditioned on one firm fact: Eretz Yisrael belongs to Am Yisrael ­ the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people – period. As Manigut Yehudit affirms: 'the state of Jews must be transformed into a Jewish State.'

A few months ago I authored an article in which I stated that only one political figure in the Likud could possibly be trusted to be Prime Minister. I made a mistake. Because the man I named was not Moshe Feiglin. And it should have been.

Anyone with eyes in their head, taking a good look around at current events in Israel, cannot help but be blinded. Blinded by absurdity, stupidity, and disgust. The leaders of the Gush Katif expulsion are falling, one by one, like dominos standing in a row. The deteriorating security in southern Israel is clearly the result of the fall of Gush Katif. Yet the so-called Defense Minister has again declared that the answer to Israel's problems is continued expulsions – this time from - 'illegal hilltop settlements.' The Prime Minister refuses to look the Israeli population in the eye and admit the errors of his ways. Rather, his excuse for postponing the 'hitconsut' or expulsion plan number two, which plans on abandoning almost all of Judea and Samaria, is politically motivated. There is no realization that Eretz Yisrael has to remain in Jewish hands.

This morning the Israeli cabinet was to hear an intelligence briefing concerning the security outlook for the next year. What country in the world would allow the details of such an 'intelligence briefing' to be broadcast on public radio, and even before it was presented to the nation's ministers. Why should Israeli radio broadcast the intelligence briefing's conclusions that 'war in the north is not expected this year.' Why broadcast such analysis to our enemies, loud and clear. Total stupidity.

And of course, let's not forget the corruption investigations against so many of the Israeli top brass.

There is much more. Media, education, economics, but I think the message is clear. Israel is not in need of a new political party. It is in need of a new kind of leadership, and a new type of leader. At the current time, I have become convinced that the only person who represents such leadership is Moshe Feiglin.

Is he perfect? Probably not. But then again, nobody is. However the fundamentals upon which he bases, not only his beliefs, but also his actions, are authentic. He is the farthest thing alive from the original sin of almost all politicians: he cannot be bought. For if he could be bought, he would have either: formed a separate party, or would have joined forces with other breakaways, or, he would have found a way to accept a juicy deal with his primary rival for Likud leadership, Bibi Netanyahu.

We have already seen what Netanyahu can do – he caused irreparable harm to Hebron and to all the State of Israel: he met Arafat, he abandoned Hebron and he signed Wye. Why give this man, with his record, a second chance? What has he done to deserve any trust or faith? Nothing. Nothing at all.

A friend of mine has, for years, been trying to get me to register with the Likud thereby allowing me to vote for Moshe Feiglin for party leadership. B'ezrat HaShem, with G-d's help, that is what I am going to do. Let's give new, true leadership a chance.

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Safe Haven or Death Trap?; Jewish Answers; Manhigut For Real

Safe Haven or Death Trap?: By Moshe Feiglin

25 Shvat, 5767 (Feb. 13) Translated from Ma'ariv's NRG Website Prime Minister Olmert and Foreign Minister Livni have only one significant solution for the Iranian nuclear threat: They suggest that we turn to the international community for help. Time and again, Olmert explains that "we must pressure the international community." It is not clear exactly how Israel should pressure the world, but nevertheless, that is what he proposes. Olmert's "pressure" includes development of the Arrow missile that is supposed to neutralize ballistic missiles in the final stage of their trajectory. But the Arrow missile is a terrible conceptual error. It is a weapon that essentially breaks Israel's Samson Option - its power of deterrence. The idea that the Arrow projects to the world is that it is fine to attempt to destroy Israel with nuclear weapons; Israel's response will still be conventional. If the Arrow works - that's great. If it prevents significant damage, Israel will most likely not destroy all the cities of the aggressor. In other words, by arming itself with the Arrow, Israel irresponsibly lowers the price tag that its enemies will have to pay if they attack. By doing so, the Arrow missile increases the chance that it will have to be deployed. If the Arrow would at least be effective, perhaps the loss of deterrence that it creates would be worth the price. But the Arrow has no chance of protecting Israel if it is attacked at once by several ballistic missiles or by one missile with multiple warheads. If Israel intends to use the Arrow to intercept all the missiles with which its enemies are armed, it will have to invest its entire defense budget exclusively on Arrow missiles. Even so, the Arrows would provide Israel with only 60% of the protection it needs. 60% is not enough to face off against doomsday weapons. When I discussed these and other facts with one of the senior engineers developing the Arrow, he replied, "I have no answers. My assignment was to develop a missile that can destroy a missile. What will happen if twenty missiles are shot at once? That is not my department." In other words, we are paying astronomical sums of money for a national sleeping pill that severely damages our deterrence factor. And what solutions does the other side of the political map - Bibi - propose? Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu has been busy speaking at one conference after another on his plan to deal with the Iranian threat. Bibi has two plans of action. Like Olmert, Netanyahu puts the main emphasis on the international community. In addition, Bibi also proposes that Israel turn to the international business community and request that businesses transfer their investments out of Iran. Netanyahu explains that it was financial pressure that ultimately eliminated the Apartheid regime of South Africa. This may be a creative idea, but it is unrealistic. When it came to fighting Apartheid, mighty international liberal forces united with the international business community to achieve their goals. Similarly, today's chemical companies have halted the production of some of their products that are detrimental to the earth's ozone layer. They do it because the ozone layer is on the international media agenda. It is simply financially sound for these companies to go along with the trend. But that is not going to happen with Achmadinijad. On the contrary. The "bad boy" from Iran has opened all the sewers of the world. Western universities today openly debate the question of Israel's right to exist. London and Paris do not call for Israel's destruction, but are comfortable with the fact that somebody else is willing to do the dirty work for them. No significant international company will give up on its profits just to help Israel. That leaves us with the solution common to both Olmert and Netanyahu: Turning to the international community. If we are "lucky," the sheriff from Washington may decide to attack Iran. But it won't be because of Israel. It is entirely possible that Bush will attack and we will have to absorb the entire counterattack. Even if Iran is not yet nuclear, it does have biological and chemical doomsday weapons. But it is most likely that Bush's precarious political position will not allow him to open up a new front, and we had best not rely on him. The last time that someone attempted to destroy the Jews - and succeeded in great measure - we turned to the international community for help. But the British and American bombers that flew over the death factories didn't have the time to bomb Auschwitz. The State of Israel, built on the ashes of the Holocaust, was supposed to have prevented the necessity of turning to the international community for protection. But now, sixty years after the State was established, Israel once again faces the threat of destruction. Neither the Prime Minister nor the head of the Opposition can find any reasonable solution other than to turn once again to the bombers that didn't strike the first time. Is the State of Israel a mistake? Could it be that instead of creating a safe haven, we have created a death trap? Those who refused to establish a Jewish state, insisting on a "normal" and "safe" state instead, got a state that is not Jewish, not safe and certainly not normal. A world leader who has the audacity to declare that he intends to destroy the State of Israel should automatically become a clear and legitimate target for Israel's special commando forces. His circle of aides should be targeted, as well. There is no reason to threaten. "Shoot, don't talk" is the order of the day. If, after this move, Iran would continue with nuclear weapons production, Israel would have to destroy them at all costs -- even if that would mean employing nuclear weapons to do so. Setting the stakes high will decrease the chance that we will actually have to make good on our threat. The international community would certainly react with horror to such steps. But ultimately, it would thank us, Israel's international standing would improve, as it did after the Six Day War, and our children would have a proud and flourishing Jewish State. To carry out this plan, Israel needs leadership that understands what we are doing in this land in the first place. It needs leadership with a strong Jewish backbone. Israel's current leadership - on both Right and Left -sees Israel's existence through the eyes of the world - as a sort of irritating nuisance. Israel's leaders' lack of faith in its right to exist was most succinctly expressed when they gave the keys to the Temple Mount - Judaism's most holy site - to the Arab wakf. "Take this hunch off our backs," Israel's government symbolically said to them. "We are no longer Jews. We are Israelis. We are here only temporarily. The foundations belong to you. So take the Temple Mount and give us a little bit of peace and quiet." And that is exactly what Achmadinijad reminds us: "You decided to negate your own Jewish legitimacy? You decided to destroy your souls? No problem. I'll help you out. I will destroy your bodies, as well. After all, you are only temporary in the Middle East. It's time for you to go back to Europe!" To solve this problem at its source, we need leadership that returns to the source. We will not be destroyed if we return to the Temple Mount. Just look at what is happening today. We are being destroyed because we betrayed the Temple Mount. We no longer have the luxury of choosing if we want to have a Jewish State or a state of all its citizens. Our only choice is between a Jewish State -- and no state at all.

Jewish Answers

We repeated it for years, emphasized it after Gush Katif and now we witness the results of the lack of values in Israel unfolding before our very eyes. One after another, Israel's falsely reassuring institutions are collapsing. Nobody has faith any more in the government, the IDF is in disarray, the Presidency, education and family unit have been hard-hit and now, we can add Israel's Police Department to the growing list of Israel's shattered institutional icons. The automatic solution proffered by the media is to replace the people who are to blame. Now we have a new Justice Minister, a new Chief of Staff, soon a new President and a new Police Chief. But it won't help. The problem is not the faulty individuals (as faulty as they may be). The problem is the lack of Jewish values to guide this country. None of the collapsed institutions would have reached the depths to which they plunged if they had been guided by authentic Jewish principles. Manhigut Yehudit is offering the solutions on an entirely different plane of consciousness. There are Jewish answers to all of Israel's ills. All we need is the courage to implement them. You can turn the State of Jews into the Jewish State. Now is the Time! Join Manhigut Yehudit Today Joining Manhigut Yehudit is much more than just a donation. Now you're part of the team! Learn about our special Members Club

Manhigut Yehudit is Real

Years ago, when we first started signing people up for Manhigut Yehudit, there were generally two types of people who would agree to join. First, there were people who had a basically positive attitude toward Manhigut's goals, but signed up because they couldn't say no to a friend. And second, there were people who signed up because they were in total despair and figured that for a few shekels per month in Likud dues, they really had nothing to lose. Thank G-d, Manhigut Yehudit has come a long way since then. Enthusiasm for Manhigut Yehudit's message is growing on a daily basis. The rapidly deteriorating situation in Israel has certainly accelerated that process. Manhigut Yehudit is out there, providing an alternative to all those people seeking a true change and an authentic Jewish message for Israel. Just recently, Moshe Feiglin, Shmuel Sackett, Michael Fuah, and other Manhigut speakers have been traveling from city to city to spread the Jewish leadership idea. Moshe and Michael have spoken in Kiryat Moshe, Jerusalem, Herzeliyah, the Likud branch of Nazareth Ilit, Haifa, Modi'in, Ma'a lot, Kiryat Shmona and more. Two- well attended meetings in English featuring Moshe Feiglin and Shmuel Sackett have also been held in the previous weeks in Jerusalem and Modi'in. From the enthusiasm of our audiences and from the feedback that we have been getting from our websites, talkbacks on Moshe Feiglin's articles on the NRG website and from the long list of influential and prominent people who request a meeting with Moshe Feiglin, we see that the Jewish majority is off the ground and preparing itself to stand up and lead. Some people connect naturally to Manhigut Yehudit's message of Jewish identity, Jewish culture and leadership that will run this country in a Jewish way. They seem to have been Manhigut Yehudit people even before the movement was established. Others, though, are skeptical. And we can't blame them. As horrifying as our current situation is today, we all basically know how to get by. We know that we are facing an existential threat from Iran, we know that we can count on the government to do nothing, we know that the army is unprepared for the war looming just over the horizon, that the kassam missiles will continue to fall and that if a Jew tries to defend himself from attack he may very well find himself on the wrong side of a set of prison bars. We assume that most politicians are corrupt, that our children will be negatively influenced by the educational system, that true justice has nothing at all to do with Israeli law - in short; we know that everything is upside down. But there is some comfort in being on familiar ground, even if that ground is upside down and dangerous. We busy ourselves with developing new tools to help us deal with the distorted reality, deluding ourselves that soon, things will get better. Manhigut Yehudit's ideology is completely outside the parameters of that upside-down familiarity. As much as Manhigut can explain what its goals and policies are, it still takes a leap of faith to abandon our prevailing solutions and start dealing with Israel's problems from an entirely different, Jewish, perspective. It forces people to detach from the comfort of blaming others and to take responsibility. And for many people, that is scary. "Why are you hijacking the Likud?" shouts a skeptical Likud old-timer at a recent meeting. "I'm the hijacker?" Moshe Feiglin retorts. "The other Likud leaders who strayed from the Likud's ideology are the real hijackers!" It takes more time for the skeptics to get used to Manhigut's proposals. But more and more people are stepping forward to take responsibility. A new consciousness is taking hold in Israel. Manhigut Yehudit is real, it is fighting to win and with G-d's help, it will be there to lead Israel to its destiny.

The Justice of Israel’s Cause

By Asher Zelig Fried

The threat facing Israel today is existential in nature and as severe as any in its near 60 year history. Iran proceeds unabated with development of its nuclear potential as it reinforces its conventional arsenal, and declares its intention to “wipe Israel off the map.”

Hezbollah rearmed to pre-war levels has repositioned itself in southern Lebanon while in Gaza; Hamas is newly fortified with advanced weaponry, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft batteries. Their training is now provided by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

What is not readily acknowledged is a quiet and under-reported military buildup taking place both in Syria and Egypt. The regional balance of power is rapidly changing. Perhaps more ominously, while previous threats to Israel were met with unanimity founded on a belief in the justice of Israel’s cause, the country today is severely fractured. Its survival is dependent upon reunification behind its cause.

Israel was founded as a homeland for the Jewish people in the ancient land Israel. Its cause clear, Israelis, and indeed Jews around the world, understood it, internalized it, and proudly proclaimed its justice. When Israel was attacked at birth, its people fought valiantly to sustain their independence, and prevailed against forces far greater in number. The world then recognized Israel as the Jewish homeland and her international standing achieved its great heights.

Israel’s cause, and its very existence, was to be tested again in June of 1967. Five Arab nations aligned against her and positioned their armies to destroy her. Israel responded with unanimity of purpose and victory was swift. The heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria, came under Jewish control for the first time in two thousand years. Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital was unified and its holy places liberated. Israel’s international standing sky-rocketed as there was never a time when the Jewish people was more admired, more respected, and more feared by its enemies, than in June of 1967.

The most harrowing threat to Israel existence occurred on Yom Kippur of 1973, as Egypt and Syria attacked simultaneously and prevailed in the initial battles of that war. With great desperation Israelis fought heroically as they understood their survival was dependent upon their actions. Their rallying point was the justice of their cause, the right of a homeland for the Jewish people in the ancient land of Israel.

There’s been much speculation as to why the justice of Israel’s cause has been so displaced, and why so diametric a change in Israel’s international standing has occurred. There is however widespread agreement as to the timing of the decline. It began most significantly in 1993, concurrent with the signing of the Oslo Accords, and has spiraled even more precipitously downward in the past several years.

The Accords introduced an entirely new narrative. It created the concept of an unjust Israel, and reversed the way many Israelis and the world perceived Israel. Pride of victory against sworn enemies was replaced by shame and defeat, as the government surrendered Jewish control over Jerusalem’s holy places and over Israel’s heartland to its enemy. Overnight Jews were branded “occupiers,” in their own land. The anomaly of Jews as occupiers of Judea, and of Jews occupying the Jewish city of Jerusalem was hardly questioned by the enlightened of western society.

The world, which once recognized Israel as the Jewish homeland and respected Israel for its ability to defend itself, was no longer certain as to who the land of Israel truly belonged. Further confusion reigned as to whether a united Jerusalem should or should not be part of the state Israel. It became difficult for even Israel’s staunchest allies to respect a people so ready to surrender their capital and much of their homeland to an enemy sworn to destroy them. World disdain for Israel began to incubate.

The most immediate result of the Oslo Accords, inconceivable in any context, was to bring back into the midst of Israel, the arch terrorist, Yasir Arafat and 7000 of his terrorist henchmen, many with Jewish blood on their hands. The government of Israel then provided these most vile and vicious murderers with massive quantities of weapons and ammunition. In their hapless delusion, the government declared this “The Peace Process.”

Arafat responded with a savage Intifada, deadly suicide attacks as Jewish families were blown apart, and the weapons that were provided to the terrorists were turned against the Jews. With the abject failure of Oslo still not apparent, then Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Arafat an independent Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, and possession of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, Judaism’s most sacred site. Arafat’s response was an escalation of suicide attacks against Israeli civilians and further accusation against Israel as an occupier of Arab land.

While Israel’s many detractors continue to work incessantly at perverting the Israel narrative, precious little is accomplished at refuting even their most contemptible lies. The European media, and now segments of the American media, regularly describe Israel as an occupying power harshly suppressing a poor and peaceful indigenous Arab population. Israel is portrayed as a militaristic threat, so much so that polls indicate a majority of Europeans consider Israel the leading threat to world peace. With Israel characterized as a “racist and apartheid state” and a “Nazi-like occupier” there is little sympathy for Israel’s battle against terrorism or compassion for her bloodied victims of suicide bombings. Israel’s international standing is in free fall.

Hardly a day passes without some denigrating accusation, new boycott, or divestiture announcement. Her most honored sons have been treated as common or war criminals, even by her closest allies. A debate now circulating within the European media and universities, unimaginable even a few years ago is whether the creation of Israel was an historic mistake. The debate now, in western society and even among “enlightened Jews,” is whether Israel should continue to exist. The battle for the hearts and minds of the civilized world, historically and overwhelmingly supportive of Israel as the David against Goliaths, is well near lost.

The cumulative impact of such widespread and overwhelming condemnation has been devastating to the country and is most evident among an increasing number of individual Israelis. For many, the “Battered Wife Syndrome” has taken firm hold. They reason that “if all these terrible things are happening to us, it must be because we deserve it.” Many now powerless to confront the unending chorus of orchestrated lies have internalized them, and in the process have discarded Israel’s most critical asset, the justice of her cause.

The strategy employed by Israel’s enemies is simple, effective, and Israel was forewarned. The prophetic words of the poet Nathan Alterman must now awaken us.

“Then did Satan say: ‘How will I conquer this beleaguered one? He possesses courage, ingenuity, resourcefulness, and tools of war.’ And then he said: ‘I’ll not rob his strength, nor bridle him, nor rein him in, nor enervate his hand. But this I’ll do - blunt his mind, till he forgets his cause is just.”

We are all witness to the return of the Jewish people to the land of their fathers after 2000 years of torturous and murderous exile. The world exists today with Christian countries and with Muslim countries, with Hindu and with Buddhist countries, and with 22 Arab countries. There is but one Jewish country and it exists on the ancient land of the Jewish people. This is Israel’s cause, and it is a just cause. It must again fill the heart of every Israeli, be proclaimed proudly and loudly, and unity will return and renewed pride will flower in Israel.

The Magic Gun; Real Israeli Democracy; Controlling The Temple Mount; Let The Polls Speak

Happiness is a Magic Gun: By Moshe Feiglin

13 Shvat, 5767 Feb. 1, 2007 Translated from Ma'ariv's NRG Website The peaceful townspeople hoped that the new sheriff would succeed; all his predecessors had failed. Time and again, bands of robbers would attack the town, shoot in every direction, murder, rob and get away unharmed. All the people responsible for the town's security had promised to make peace with the robbers. This made it impossible to defeat them. It was like a collective mental illness. The townspeople, after all, had built the town in an attempt to create a new, normal identity for themselves. They wanted to be just an ordinary town and live in peace with their neighbors. But the neighbors didn't like the townspeople's new identity. They fought them constantly. And so, the town couldn't triumph. Triumph would mean that there was no peace. Without peace, the town could not be an ordinary place. So the townspeople decided that it was "impossible to defeat terror," and tried to solve the problem with protective walls, separation fences and roadblocks. No doubt about it; it was a type of mental illness. The situation went from bad to worse. So the townspeople blamed the residents of the isolated houses at the edge of the town. "They upset the robbers," the sheriffs explained to the townspeople. "It's their fault that we don't have peace with the robbers. Why should we die for them, anyway?" So instead of fighting the robbers, every new sheriff would fight the townspeople who lived at the edge of town. The last sheriff went one step farther. He even demolished all the isolated houses at the edge of town and threw all the poor townspeople who lived there to the dogs. The regular townspeople were very impressed with the brave sheriff's glorious victory and elected him for an additional term in office by a large majority. But then the brave sheriff had a stroke. A new sheriff replaced him. He had already learned how to be popular in the peaceful town. "My predecessor bravely disengaged from a few isolated houses," he said. "But I will be much braver than him. I will have the entire town converge into the Town Square!" The robbers got the idea and vigorously attacked all the remaining houses in town. This time they did more than rob and plunder; they also abducted some of the townspeople before getting away. The new sheriff tried to prove to the townspeople that he could protect them from the borders of the Town Square. He tried to fight the robbers according to accepted town practice -- from the plasma screen in his office. The robbers laughed and laughed. They went to live at the edge of town, where the isolated townspeople used to live. From there, they would shoot at the frightened townspeople whenever they pleased. The new sheriff even shot back. After a month, though, the new sheriff understood that he could simply not win. So he announced that he won and stopped shooting. The robbers also stopped shooting. What did they care? The hostages were still in their hands, and they needed to rest and re-supply, anyway. The Magic Gun The new sheriff had a serious problem. The townspeople no longer had faith in him. He had become the laughingstock of the town. His loyal aides explained that he must present some sort of solution. If not, they warned, the fate of his career would be sealed. "Do not fear," said the sheriff to the weary and frightened townspeople. "We are working on the perfect solution. We have an unbeatable plan to protect you." While the townspeople gazed on in astonishment, the sheriff demonstrated his new Magic Gun solution. "The Magic Gun will allow us to make peace with the robbers -- even if they don't stop shooting. When the next robber comes," the sheriff enthusiastically explained, "we will do nothing to endanger peace. When the robber will provoke the townspeople, I won't even have to leave my office. That could endanger the normalization of our relations with them, you understand." "When the robber waves his gun, I will explain that it is nothing more than a water gun. That will prevent unnecessary friction. And when the robber will point his gun straight at the heart of a little towns-girl, I will be able to continue my daily nap. And when the robber pulls the trigger, I will just turn over in my bed." "But," the sheriff excitedly added, "when the bullet leaves the gun, everything will change. The Magic Gun will rapidly identify the flying bullet. It will jump from my belt, even while I'm still sleeping, home-in on the robber's gun, shoot a magic bullet at the robber's bullet and destroy it in mid-air. The robber will not be harmed at all, and that way we will be able to continue with our peaceful neighborly relations." The townspeople were very excited. Finally, somebody had found the way to make true peace. Finally, they could be an ordinary town, like everyone else. There was one Nuisance there who tried to ask what would happen if the robbers would shoot more than one bullet at a time. He even reminded the townspeople that recently, the sheriff had given the robbers automatic guns. "Furthermore," the Nuisance added, "every magic bullet costs one trillion dollars. Even if the magic works, after one round of robbers' bullets, we will have to leave our town to find food for our children!" The townspeople got very angry at the Nuisance. On their television, they repeatedly displayed the amazing new technology that was behind the Magic Gun. They were in no mood to let a few warmongering Nuisances ruin their dream of being ordinary townspeople. They let out their anger on some of the Nuisances' settlements and gave the good and pragmatic robbers more money and automatic weapons so that they could fight the bad, religious robbers. And so, the perfect solution was finally found to restore peace and quiet to the town. Finally, the townspeople could blend in normally with their surroundings. The robbers robbed and murdered, the sheriff ruled in his sleep, the Nuisances were gotten rid of, the townspeople paid for the Magic Gun and all the damages incurred-- and everyone lived happily ever after.

Districts for a Democratic Israel

Translated and excerpted from Moshe Feiglin's book, "The War of Dreams." A true democracy cannot exist when the public's representatives are not dependant on the voters. In 97% of the world's democracies, including countries the size of Israel, the election method is based on voting districts. The elected official knows his voters and has to work hard to maintain their faith in him. This method strengthens the community framework and delegates authority and responsibility to the local government. Israel's founders -- the Labor Mapai and its satellites -- talked about democracy, but they didn't really mean it. The method that they imposed upon us is centralized and turns the entire country into one large district. This method is unique to Israel. It gives the central government all the power, but no responsibility. Imagine that every district in Israel would know in advance that it would receive a proportionate allocation of the national budget in addition to a percentage of local taxes. The residents of the Bnei Brak district could, for example, decide what portion of their budget they would like to allocate to large families; the residents of Ramat Aviv could decide how much to allocate to human rights parades; the residents of the south could decide how much to allocate to the Negev Law. This proposal is not only possible; it is critical. It also correlates with the basic Jewish approach toward community life (the tribal division, if you will). Division into voting districts applies to every facet of our national lives. The community should appoint its local police chief; it should decide which streets will be opened and closed to traffic on Shabbat; if there will be longer school days in the district and at the expense of what. Since most Israelis want to remain Jews, this will strengthen the Jewish identity of the state and democracy will flourish. The Left -- a small minority that controls the country by using the centralized method to its benefit -- will lose its power. That is also the reason that the "Big Brothers" of the elite will do all they can to thwart this proposal. The continued control of the elites depends on Israel's continued centralized democracy. But do not worry. In the end, the nation will triumph. The only question is at what price. Who is the Sovereign on the Temple Mount? "He who rules the Mount rules the Land" wrote Uri Tzvi Greenberg. This week, we had another painful reminder of this fact. Once again, Israel's government caved in to Arab threats of violence and international pressure, indefinitely postponing construction work on the Mugrabim Bridge at the foot of the Temple Mount. Israel's surrender of its sovereignty on the Temple Mount triggers its collapse throughout the country. Unhappily, the State of Israel was not established to realize the historical goals of the Nation of Israel. Its declared purpose was to be a safe haven for the nation that would be just like all other nations. But when the Nation of Israel attempts to be just an ordinary nation, it cannot even provide itself with safety, and its sovereignty is lost. Now, like sixty years ago, Israel is facing the threat of destruction. Ostensibly, the country was founded for this very moment. But what is Israel's solution to Iran's nuclear threats? What is the significant difference between Olmert's solution and Netanyahu's? The entire spectrum of Israeli consciousness -- from Right to Left, is incapable of suggesting anything more than turning to the international community for help. Once again, we hope and pray that the American and British warplanes will bomb Auschwitz. A government that is incapable of retaining its sovereignty over Israel's heart -- the TempleMount -- loses the remnants of its sovereignty and its ability to defend its people and its country. You can turn the State of Jews into the Jewish State. Now is the Time! Join Manhigut Yehudit Today Joining Manhigut Yehudit is much more than just a donation. Now you're part of the team! Learn about our special Members Club Making Headway This week's poll on the Arutz 7 website asked readers to choose their favorite candidate for Prime Minister. The results of over 2000 votes are as follows: Moshe Feiglin: 37.9% Aryeh Eldad: 33.1% Binyamin Netanyahu: 21.1% Avigdor Leiberman: 7.9% True, this poll would certainly have had different results if it had been taken on a website visited by a wider spectrum of Israeli voters. But it does give us a fairly accurate picture of where the Jewish Majority is holding. And that picture is very encouraging: For one, we see that the voters are fed up with the eternal candidates that the political system re-cooks from one election to the next. This phenomenon seems to be common to most of the Israeli public. Secondly, important headway has been made in the leadership consciousness of the Jewish Majority. Lieberman and Netanyahu, both considered "Rightists", lag way behind in this poll. The Jewish Majority voters do not see them as worthy candidates. Both Moshe Feiglin and Aryeh Eldad, on the other hand, enjoy the support of 30% to 40% of the Arutz 7 voters. Obviously, these numbers do not reflect Israeli society as a whole. But for the first time, we can see that the Jewish Majority has begun to throw off the shackles of inferiority that it has traditionally felt toward the "real Israelis" of the Left. Bibi, who reverts time and again to Leftist policies, is no longer their man. They are looking for a fresh, new leader who can provide Israel with honest and comprehensive solutions. Moshe Feiglin and Aryeh Eldad have earned the confidence of the Jewish Majority. It would be interesting to see the results of a race between them. There is just one problem, though. Aryeh Eldad is not running for Prime Minister. He has always sufficed himself with influencing the Prime Minister from his sectoral-party Knesset seat. Of the four candidates in the poll, only two -- Moshe Feiglin and Binyamin Netanyahu -- are in the real race for Prime Minister. If we would assume that the votes for Eldad and Lieberman would be split more or less equally between the two candidates in the leadership arena, we would still remain with a ratio of 60:40 in Moshe Feiglin's favor. Clearly, Manhigut Yehudit's leadership drive has made a real breakthrough in the Jewish Majority's consciousness. Ten years ago, most voters would have been frightened to leave the familiarity of the conventional candidate -- no matter how much he had betrayed them in the past. When we finally manage to break through the iron wall of inferiority consciousness with which the Jewish Majority is afflicted, a true symbiosis between basic Jewish culture and national leadership will be created. And when that happens, how many people will continue to vote for the National Religious Party or for the National Union? How many will stay with Lieberman or with Shas? The religious and nationalist satellite parties will become irrelevant and will automatically attach themselves to the Jewish Majority's umbrella party -- Jewish Israel -- under the leadership of the Likud. With G-d's help, this party will lead Israel to its destiny. Now You can Vote Which candidate would you prefer for Prime Minister? Unlike the Arutz 7 poll, Manhigut Yehudit's poll includes only those National Camp candidates who are in the leadership arena: Moshe Feiglin and Binyamin Netanyahu. So who do you choose? Moshe Feiglin or Binyamin Netanyahu Click here to vote now and see what others are thinking!

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The Surrender Continues With Hope In The Distance

By Jason Gold

Capitulating To Terror
Depressing isn't it? Thinking about the lives lost, the Jewish blood spilled to return to our homeland only to have a faithless, morally bankrupt corrupt group of clowns, thugs, and empty suits give it away? And not all at once, mind you. No, they are doing it in stages, like slow torture, ripping the heart out of Israel piece by piece. The only reason it is not proceeding faster is that the terrorists have been too busy killing each other, although now based on what happened in Mecca, they seem to have gotten their act together to kill Jews again. Yes we are fortunate that the Saudis were there to set things straight.

Help From The Religious
And the secular surrenderers have help from our religious so-called leaders. The erstwhile religious mayor of Jerusalem has been aiding and abetting in the surrender. Everyone knows that the repairs on the Rambam gate are not endangering the mosques. But seeing our lack of resolve, the Arabs know that they can pretty much do and claim whatever they want in an attempt to loosen our hold on the Temple Mount even more. It worked didn't it? After all, the mayor did issue an order stopping the repair work in the interest of a dialog between religious leaders. And all this as Hizbullah re-arms, Kassam fire continues, and the religious political leadership sits in the Knesset and debates what with the PM? Which suit he should wear to the proposed summit with Abbas. What was it that Nero did while Rome burned?

Avigdor, Are You There?
And now in the latest saga of surrender, the army under orders from "above" abandoned Israeli-owned land to the Arabs and their leftist collaborators in Southern Yesha. You know somewhere I remember a newly anointed secular messiah (where are you hiding Avigdor?) stating that he was joining the government and abandoning his sacred 5 principles so that this wouldn't happen. Oh well, at least he is dealing with the Iranian strategic threat, right?

Hope In The Distance
So what's the answer, class? Once again, FAITH-BASED LEADERSHIP. Accept no substitutes because nothing else works. That includes new up and coming leftists stars like Ami Amaylon, Livnat, Barak, Peres, ad nauseum. There is a poll of 1800+ people on the Arutz-7 Hebrew website, of who should be leader of Israel. Given the choice between Aryeh Eldad (33.2%), Bibi (20.9%), Lieberman (8.1%), and Feiglin (37.7%), it is apparent that the secular and dati nationalist camp is finally beginning to see that faith-based leadership is the order of the day.

It's all about empowerment, folks. It's about shrugging off the lethargy, the feeling of hopelessness, and doing what needs to be done. The matsav can be changed. But it means bringing down the current roster of ineffective players and replacing them with those who understand what faith-based leadership is. And it's about more than just wearing a kippah, right Mr. Mayor?


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Welcome To The Party, Bibi

By Jason Gold

Better late than never, eh Bibi? Come on in. Contenders to the right, pretenders to the left. So where do you fit in? Suddenly in an epiphany, you have discovered the value of Jewish education? So pray tell, what exactly were you doing while your erstwhile fellow Likudnik continued the tradition of gutting the education ministry in Sharon's last stand with the Likud? Yes, yes I know you were busy running the finance ministry and you actually did a fairly decent job of it as the economy will now testify. However, you left much undone, such as not breaking the Histadrut when you had the chance (did you think Peretz and his hoods would vote for you?) and as shown in the infamous photo below, voting for the hitnakut of Gush Katif and then resigning from the government when it suited your political purposes.

You are an excellent spokesperson. You were a solid finance minister. You were a disaster as PM and would be so again. Your decisions on Chevron haunt us to this day including the murder of Shalhevet Pass. Your inability to stand up to Clinton at Wye and to at least come home with Jonathan Pollard shows a serious lack of backbone. Your failure to get Israel off the narcotic of US aid money shows serious follow through issues. Your political zigzagging is all the more painful when one considers the promise that you had. Yes, you had the ability to be one of Israel's greatest leaders and all you are missing is one small thing. A thing called emunah, yiras shamayim, or as we here in Manhigut Yehudit call it, Jewish Identity. Yes, Jewish education is a key ingredient in MY's platform, Bibi. Obviously you were paying attention to Feiglin as he closed in on you from nowhere in the last Likud primaries. Obviously you were so terrified of him, you resorted to all sorts of dirty little tricks to try to get him thrown out of the party before realizing that you would end up alienating Sharansky, Edelstein and a large block of Likudniks that back Feiglin.

So now that MY controls the largest solid block of voters in Likud, what will you do this time? Will you try to fight a fair fight against Feiglin? Will you even have the courage to debate him? Will you try to convince people that you truly have discovered Jewish Identity so that other pretenders will claim that they can "influence" you from behind the scenes? What about the current boosha of Har Habayit Bibi? What about "more painful concessions" Bibi? What about the massive corruption Bibi? Which murderer's hand will you shake this time Bibi? You see, the people are starting to slowly come out of their anesthetized state. Maybe that's why in a recent poll of Israeli voters, almost 2/3 said that you, Livni, and Olmert were all non-choices. If you can convince people that you truly have changed and that you now have more than the typical Israeli hack politician's 12 hour planning horizon, then perhaps you deserve to be PM. Then again, maybe not, although if the people actually vote you in, then perhaps they deserve what they will get. I find it amazing that you somehow manage to induce amnesia in a significant number of people including some otherwise superb journalists that would actually back you.

So do us a favor Bibi. Let Moshe run the Likud and then the country. Be the finance minister or Ambassador to the UN or anywhere else that you can get your picture on the news and slice up ignorant, bigoted, BBC reporters because that is what you are good at. You are not a leader. As your secular Likudnik Moshe Peled said, secular leadership is no longer appropriate for Israel. And just as importantly, whether or not they agree or disagree with him, you will never get the reaction from the Israeli "little guy" that Feiglin invokes. That reaction? "Ish Yashar."

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