The Revolution; Pollard; New Leadership Needs A Chance

Revolution Nuts and Bolts

The Jewish leadership revolution that is in the making has to include two components: First, education and security. Second, media and the justice system. Education and security are the two sides of the existence coin. Israel didn't lose to Nasrallah this summer because of lack of military might. The IDF simply did not know what its goals were or how it was supposed to fight. "He who has a 'why' for which to live," said Nietzsche, "can overcome every 'how.' The various commissions of inquiry and replacement of the IDF Chief of Staff have little significance, because they do not relate to the basic point that led to Israel's defeat. The IDF 2007 -- the army that buried its soul in the sands of Gush Katif -- no longer has the "why" and certainly not the "how." Naturally, it cannot overcome its enemies. Most of the new inductees into the army have never visited Jerusalem. Most of them cannot complete the verse "Shema Yisrael." If you do not know who you are or where you are from, you cannot know who your enemy is or what you are fighting about. The educational revolution will directly strengthen our security situation. Every student in Israel must be exposed to at least one daily hour of Jewish education. Israel's students must study the Bible, Israel's history and geography, archeology, and the content of the Jewish prayer book. The government should not coerce its citizens to perform religious commandments. But it should also not allow ignorance about the roots of our Jewish identity. Every person should be free to live his faith. Ignorance, though, is the opposite of freedom. The first part of the revolution will ensure that every graduate of Israel's educational system will know and honor his Jewish roots. An army founded on solid Jewish awareness will once again be able to defeat its enemies. The second component of the revolution is the media and court system. These are the two sides of the justice coin. The media determines how we should behave, while the courts determine the legality of our behavior. For instance, if journalist Amnon Rabinovitch explains that the corruption of the Sharon family can wait until after the ideology in which he believes is actualized -- in other words, until after the settlers are destroyed -- this means that the media that determines the behavioral norm in Israel sees corruption as a secondary issue. Concomitantly, if Supreme Court Justice Mishael Cheshin explains without even the blink of an eye that Israel's court system fully understood that Sharon and his sons received bribes -- but did not convict them so as not to stop the perpetration of its ideology -- the destruction of the setters -- then the court system that determines legal norms and societal norms clearly signals that fighting corruption is only secondary. If we really want to understand the source of the corruption that is gnawing away at the foundations of our existence, we had best stop looking for it in the party central committees and Israel's elected officials. The source of the corruption is not the President or the Finance Minister. First and foremost, it is Amnon Rabinovitch and Mishael Cheshin, both on a personal level and also as representatives of the media and justice systems that created the ethical decadence that is destroying the State. The revolution in both the media and the court system is based on the same method: Let the people decide. Let the people decide what they will watch on television, and let the people choose their judges. As opposed to most journalists and judges, the majority of Israel's public is clearly connected to its Jewish identity and its basic values. When the people will really have a choice, they will choose good over bad. The Israel Broadcasting Authority must be shut down. Anybody who would like to broadcast should be allowed to pay for a frequency and broadcast to his heart's content -- limited of course by Israel's current anti-slander and security laws. Israel's judges should be elected by the representatives of the public in the Knesset. Their election should be contingent on a public hearing and their opinions and political preferences should be public knowledge. Before every promotion they should once again undergo the same process -- this time with analysis of their legal decisions. The Supreme Court judges should be subject to public hearing every five years. With G-d's help, this four-pronged revolution will pave the way for an authentically Jewish State.

America's Jewish Captive: By Moshe Feiglin

Translated from the Ma'ariv NRG website. 21 Adar, 5767 March 11, 2007 The federal penitentiary in Butner, North Carolina looks like a tip top army base. Hoping to add a few more minutes to our meeting with Jonathon Pollard, Shmuel Sackett and I arrive a few minutes early and wait in our car in the parking lot. "You can't wait here," a policewoman announces to us. "We can't sit in our car?" we ask, surprised. "That's right," the policewoman persists. "This sure isn't Ramle prison in Israel," I say to myself as we drive out of the parking lot. Our connection to Jonathon Pollard is very important to us. We believe in loyalty. We believe that there is truth in the world and that there is good and evil. Those who forget Jonathon Pollard ignore truth and justice. They lose the moral ability to distinguish between good and evil. This approach has created a culture of disloyalty in Israel: Disloyalty to the Land of Israel, to our nation's Jewish identity, to our nation's values and of course, to people. Jonathon Pollard is the quintessential victim of this culture of disloyalty. The revolution that Manhigut Yehudit leads is the return to the culture of loyalty. Jonathon enters the visitor's room with a smile on his face, conducting himself like a gracious host. Every time that I meet Jonathon, I am amazed by his ability to control his feelings. When I hug him, a fraction of the pain of his tragedy creeps sickeningly through my veins. Jonathon speaks. He talks of current events in Israel. He seems to be more updated than I am. Despite the barbed wire fences in North Carolina, Jonathon's penetrating vision analyzes what is happening in Israel better than all the local pundits. Time is running out. "What can we do for you?" Shmuel Sackett asks Jonathon. And then something in Jonathon seems to crack. Suddenly, he is no longer the gracious host in his living room. "I want you to see this," he says and takes off his shoe. His heel is distorted and swollen. Jonathon sticks his finger deep into the joint, as if his foot was made out of play-dough. He removes his finger, but the hole that he made remains. "All the joints in my body are in the same state," he explains. "Aren't you being treated?" I ask. "All that they give me is painkillers," he answers with a smile. "But I've given up on those as well. To get them, I have to wait in line for an hour. My body simply cannot deal with that." Suddenly, I understand that Jonathon is worried that by the time we do something, there will be nobody left to save. New voices are emanating from America. President Bush has been hinting that he would be happy to release Pollard for Passover. Senior officials in the American government and James Wallsey, who was head of the CIA when Pollard was captured, publicly call for his release. What is needed now is for Israel to officially request Pollard's release. But amazingly, the country for which Jonathon sacrificed his life sends the Americans the opposite message: Pollard does not interest Israel's government. 112 Knesset members have signed a letter calling for Pollard's release, but first Sharon and now Olmert refuse to present it to President Bush. Jonathon Pollard is the Jew who saved the Israeli from the American. He symbolizes the identity crisis that we refuse to deal with. Pollard forces our Jewish identity upon us. He calls on us to demand his release because he is not an American and we are not Israelis - we are all Jews. That is why he sacrificed his life for us. That is why we have to act on his behalf now. Standing by our betrayed captive is an acid test. To save him, we must express our Jewish identity. A Jewish Israel could easily bring about Jonathon's release. But the Israeli government that is estranged from its Judaism prefers to let him rot in prison.

Help Pollard

The following effort is being organized on behalf of Jonathan Pollard. Manhigut Yehudit applauds all actions taken on behalf of this Jewish hero. This program is simple and can be done by every one. Please do your part! Nationwide White House Call-In for Jonathan Pollard White House Telephone Number 1-202-456-1111 A nationwide 60-day call-in to the White House campaign has begun and will continue through the Holiday of Pesach / Passover, the Holiday of Freedom, to call the attention of President George W. Bush to the continued unfair incarceration of Jonathan Pollard. Organizers of the campaign remind the community that the White House counts and tallies all in-coming calls, so every single phone call makes a difference. The White House phone number is 1-202-456-1111. Callers are asked to call daily between the hours of 11-2 pm EST and to encourage their family members and friends to do the same. Callers are reminded to expect the lines to be busy and to keep calling until they get through. For additional information about the Jonathan Pollard cause, or to print out the campaign ad, please visit www.jonathanpollard.org

Give New Leadership a Chance: By David Wilder

7 Adar, 5756 Feb. 25, 2007 David Wilder is the spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Hebron. 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 Zo 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. Zo 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 Zo Artzenu was uniquely impressive and creative, they decided to continue forward. In 1998 they founded Manhigut 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 the Land of Israel, 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: The Land of Israel belongs to the Nation of Israel ­-- period. As Manhigut Yehudit affirms: "The state of the 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 "Convergence," or expulsion plan number two, which plans on abandoning almost all of Judea and Samaria, is politically motivated. There is no realization that the Land of Israel 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. 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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