The Revolution Gains Traction; Bibi Joins Manhigut?; Feiglin On The IDF and Hizbullah

Belief Based Revolution Gaining Ground One sure sign of approaching elections in Israel is the plethora of political polls that appear daily in the press. Bibi goes up, Olmert goes down, and the public still has nowhere to turn. Interestingly, in a recent poll conducted by Arutz 7 that asked who is the preferable candidate for Prime Minister: Olmert, Netanyahu or Tzippy Livni, over 62% answered "none of the above." In other words, Israel is looking for something that does not yet exist -- neither on the Left nor the Right. But there are other polls that are much more significant to Manhigut Yehudit: The polls that measure where the public is holding on the Jewish identity continuum. These polls consistently show that the Israeli public is interested in a Jewish state that expresses its Jewish identity. In fact, more and more people are opting for Jewish identity all the time. And that is where Manhigut Yehudit comes in. True, in order for the belief based revolution to succeed, it has to have a ruling base. That is why Manhigut Yehudit is aiming to lead the Likud. But the main part of Manhigut Yehudit's goal is in the change of consciousness that it seeks to engender. It's not enough to sign up tens of thousands of supporters to the Likud and then "artificially" win the primaries. That may be all that we need to win. But we need to do more than win. We need to rule. And to rule, we must have widespread support for our Jewish identity platform. For over a decade, Manhigut Yehudit has focused its efforts on presenting the public with the belief based alternative. Thank G-d, the concept of Jewish leadership for Israel has taken root. People may not realize that they first heard about Jewish leadership from Manhigut Yehudit, but it makes no difference. Today, Israelis know that they are disgusted with our current leaders, but that the media-backed alternatives will just give them more of the same. They search for an authentic leader whose values reflect his Jewish identity.

How Does the Belief Based Revolution Look?

In a recent lecture at a yeshiva high school, Moshe Feiglin asked the students and staff who they would like to see as Israel's next prime minister. All sorts of names came up: Former Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, the head of the yeshiva hosting Moshe's lecture, a number of other religious figures and one basketball star. "This is the Manhigut Yehudit revolution," Moshe Feiglin proclaimed to his audience."When I was in yeshiva high school," he continued, "nobody would even dream of a belief based prime minister. The greatest dream that we could muster was to have Raful Eitan at the helm. But now, basketball star notwithstanding, not one person suggested a leader whose starting point is not firm belief in G-d. In my eyes, this is Manhigut Yehudit's greatest achievement. In just a few years, everybody in this room will be eligible to vote. The very near future belongs to the belief based revolution." Even more widespread evidence of the inroads that the belief based revolution is making in the Israeli public is the poll conducted by the Gesher Institute in conjunction with Israel's Yediot Acharonot website, publicized this Sunday. Over 57% of the respondents who identify themselves as non-observant said that the Jewish identity of the State of Israel should be on equal footing with democracy. This is a surprising figure, given the "democracy above all" propaganda constantly injected into Israel's veins by the justice system and media. (See Moshe Feiglin's article, "Democratic Because It's Jewish"). In addition, 58% of the respondents are willing to have stores closed on Shabbat in order to maintain Israel's Jewish orientation. And a full 99% think that solid Jewish education is vital for all of Israel's children. The most important phenomenon that the poll re- emphasized is the fact that the "traditional" public -- those people who do not consider themselves observant, yet firmly retain their Jewish identity -- were the most dominant factor in the poll and dictated the outcome of all its results. These are the Israelis who identify first as Jews. They are poised to change Israeli society. In short, despite all the media hype to the contrary, Jewish identity is rapidly taking hold throughout Israel. That is Manhigut Yehudit's message, and its support base is growing day by day. Who's Afraid of the Belief Based Revolution? The small, yet powerful minority in Israeli society that strives to make Israel a state of all its citizens. In fact, although the above poll was jointly commissioned by Ynet, it spent only a few short hours on its home page. Apparently, the poll's results do not fit in with Ynet's anti-Jewish identity/state of all its citizens message. After a brief appearance on Ynet's homepage, the poll completely disappeared from the website and was replaced with three anti-religious articles that have enjoyed a much longer stay in the limelight.

Bibi on the Jewish Identity Bandwagon

Binyamin Netanyahu also seems to have realized that Jewish identity is "cool" and the way to win. In a recent public appearance, Bibi proclaimed that when he is prime minister, every child in Israel will receive a proper Jewish education. Imitation, of course is the sincerest form of flattery, and Manhigut Yehudit is gratified that Bibi has also begun to spread the Manhigut message. The problem with Bibi's message, though, is that he presents Jewish education as a beneficial band-aid. Manhigut Yehudit, on the other hand, includes Jewish education as part of an all-inclusive change of lifestyle. Besides Jewish education, Manhigut Yehudit stands for Jewish economy, Jewish culture, Jewish justice and more as parts of a complete re-orientation of Israel as an authentically holistic Jewish society. (See Jewish State: Guidelines on the Manhigut Yehudit website.) It is possible that only Bibi and Moshe Feiglin will run in the Likud primaries. Even if other candidates join the race, though, it looks like Bibi has realized that the Jewish identity ticket is the way to go. For the first time in Israel's history, the political debate will center on an authentic issue. At that point, the public will have to be able to discern between Bibi's Jewish "spin" (Does anybody really believe that he has so quickly repented for embracing Arafat, surrendering Hebron , voting for the destruction of Gush Katif and more?) and Moshe Feiglin's honest plans to make Israel a truly Jewish country. And that is when we will need our friends and supporters to reach out to the Likudniks, present them with the facts and --essentially -- save Israel. 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

Will the Real General Please Stand Up?

By Moshe Feiglin 9 Shvat, 5767 January 28, 2007 From Israel's Ma'ariv website Last week, Prime Minister Olmert met with the IDF High Command and declared: "If somebody would have said on July 11th that in another half a year Southern Lebanon would be free of the Hizbollah, everyone would have said that he was crazy." The following is a letter that I recently received: I am sorry to say that since the end of the war in the North, Israel's situation has deteriorated. I spoke with a reserve soldier from the Golani brigade that just finished his reserve duty on the northern border. He saw the Hizbollah terrorists just thirty meters from the border fence. They are armed but do not wear uniforms. Israel's soldiers are not allowed to aim their weapons at them and are not allowed to anger them in any way. Two soldiers in the 51st Golani Brigade also reported the same. I have only written a bit of what I have found out. Clearly, the next abduction is just a matter of time. (I hope that I am wrong.) Unfortunately, the media has analyzed what happened in the past, but there is no discussion about what lies in store. Actually, we don't need this letter to know what is happening on the northern border. Hizbollah flags wave proudly on the border fence. Anybody who is willing to listen knows that the Hizbollah was never expelled from Southern Lebanon. On the contrary: Hizbollah's undeniable victory over the IDF has significantly strengthened it; its control in Lebanon has increased and sooner or later, it will take over the entire country. But what this letter and the follow-up phone call that I made did clarify was that there is a conspiracy of silence between Israel's government, the IDF and the Hizbollah terrorists. If the IDF soldiers are ordered not to shoot when the Hizbollah provokes them, that means that everyone knows they are there and everyone is trying to buy some time by creating a false illusion that they are not there. In other words: If they shoot at you, run away, because if you shoot back we will have to admit that somebody shot. Israel's security is not the greatest concern for Olmert and the IDF generals. Their personal, political survival is much more important. Security considerations require dealing with the situation. But all that political survival requires is deception of the public. In essence, Israel's leaders and the Hizbollah are cooperating in their deception of the Israeli public. The Hizbollah terrorists do not wear uniforms and Israel's government and army commanders tell us that the region is "free" of Hizbollah. The government and the generals cannot admit that the International Force in Southern Lebanon is a farce. They cannot admit that it does not enhance Israel's security, but it does limit the IDF's ability to react to provocations, while entangling Israel in an endless array of possible military misadventures and misunderstandings. They cannot admit that Israel's "glorious victory" in Lebanon has created a defensive umbrella of international forces to shield the Hizbollah -- that has remained in the very same place with at least the same military might -- just without uniform. To admit all of that would mean admitting that they failed miserably on the political front and were roundly defeated on the military front. Then they may have to leave their offices and surrender their personal power to someone else; someone who may even actually take responsibility for Israel's security. The most serious aspect of this situation is not Olmert's remarks. Israelis have already learned not to take him very seriously, anyway. The problem is the silence of the lineup of generals at that meeting. Actually, they were not completely silent. From their responses we could have concluded that not only did the IDF clear the entire region of Hizbollah, but it also instilled the fear of the Lord in all of Israel's enemies and from now on, nobody in the entire Middle East will dare attack our country. The problem is not only ex-Chief of Staff Halutz, and the solution is not only to appoint a new Chief of Staff. The problem is the entire military High Command. The problem is that not one general had the courage to stand up at that meeting and say, "Mr. Prime Minister, I am sorry, but the facts that you have presented do not reflect reality. The Hizbollah is on the border fence. This presents us with both tactical and strategic problems. On the tactical level, we continue to face the danger of Hizbollah missiles on Israel's northern region, as well as additional abductions of soldiers. On the strategic level, Hizbollah's presence on our northern border increases the chances of regular Arab armies joining in the fighting in the next round." If not one general stood up and told the bitter truth, then the present IDF High Command has no real excuse for existing. Every minute that it remains creates a security problem for Israel, because it obstructs our country from facing up to the truth and dealing with it.

Tackling the Issues: Jewish Culture

The following is excerpted from Moshe Feiglin's book, "The War of Dreams." The belief based public is imprisoned in its "anti-culture" stance. We do not create real culture. Instead, we secretly adopt the existing culture -- that so often lacks restraint and refinement. We read A.B. Yehoshua and Amos Oz and hum Leftist songs to ourselves. Not that we agree with the words, but they are written in authentic language and we can identify with them. After all, what is our alternative? Utzu Eitzah? Mashiach Mashiach? Those songs are good for weddings, but what deep needs do they answer in our souls? Does anybody hum Mashiach Mashiach when he is alone? When Israelis whistle the tunes of Shlomo Artzi, they adopt his spiritual world. Ultimately, they also adopt his words, "We already have a land, why do we need another one?" And then, when the settlement enterprise is threatened with destruction, Tel Aviv accepts it without blinking an eye. We must begin to build an authentic Israeli culture -- a culture founded on our Jewish roots; a Torah-motivated culture that will replace the culture of estrangement and cynicism that exists today. It's time to get to work! Time for creative and free writing, for new and original music, for artistic photography that emphasizes our true will, for authentic poetry, meaningful satire, for drawing and sculpting that reflect our morals and values. This is the way for us to become a great nation, a united nation; a nation that is proud of its identity; a nation that would never think of abandoning its authentic culture or the Land on which it developed.

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