Onward Bibi!

Our Views: Onward Bibi
By Moshe Feiglin
Founder and President, Manhigut Yehudit

17 Tamuz, 5767 (July 3)

Binyamin Netanyahu wants Likud primaries at the earliest possible date. In fact, he has suggested a date just five weeks from now and has arranged for the Likud Central Committee to convene next week to officially set the primaries date. No matter what date is chosen, though, we continue to see the Likud as the ideal platform to further our goal of authentic Jewish leadership for Israel.

The following article is translated from Moshe Feiglin's book, "The War of Dreams." With Bibi racing toward the Prime Minister's seat with the support of a substantial segment of the right-wing public, it is important to remind ourselves of what happened the last time Bibi won with the National Camp's dedicated help.


Onward Bibi!

Sukkot, 5762

October, 2001

Song and dance greeted the elegant automobile that entered Karnei Shomron. The settler youth pranced and sang in front of the hood, and escorted the honored guest the few hundred meters to the auditorium. There was an overflow crowd as Karnei Shomron's residents waited expectantly for the guest to speak.
A visit by Binyamin Netanyahu in Karnei Shomron is a special event. In all the years that he was prime minister, the settlement did not merit even one visit from the man who won almost 100% of the votes of its residents. So it was only natural that his visit now would generate enthusiasm.
It wasn't only the settlers that pounced upon the now-available Netanyahu as if they had discovered a hidden treasure. Two months ago, the right-wing radio station, Arutz Sheva dedicated two hours of its popular afternoon broadcast to the former prime minister. Netanyahu even granted time for listeners to ask him questions. That was predictable and expected behavior on the part of Arutz Sheva. When he was prime minister, Bibi never visited Karnei Shomron; he also never deviated from his impulse to chase after the microphones of the Left. Only. So naturally, when the VIP finally made time to speak into Arutz Sheva's friendly microphone, the radio station gave him its prime time slot.
Not coincidentally, the former PM was also interviewed extensively in the right-wing Makor Rishon newspaper. Just like at Arutz Sheva, coverage of Netanyahu in Makor Rishon was most supportive. After all, Netanyahu, who when he was PM did not find one free moment for an interview with Makor Rishon, must have been tired after all the interviews that he had granted to the left-wing newspapers. Now, when he finally dedicated some time to the nationalist newspaper, it was only natural that his photos would fill its pages. For some reason, nobody asked him hard questions.
Even the Western Wall Tunnels fiasco, as described by Bibi in his interview with Makor Rishon, was tinted in a romantic shade of heroism. Arafat's soldiers killed 16 Israeli soldiers in fighting that they instigated over the Western Wall Tunnels. As a reward for their efforts, Bibi surrendered most of Hebron to Arafat and proved that Jewish blood oils the wheels of the revolution well. The Western Wall Tunnels fighting was the first time that the Palestinian Authority opened fire on IDF soldiers. Netanyahu's weak-kneed response gave the green light for all that we are enduring today.
But in the Makor Rishon interview, Netanyahu presented the Tunnel fiasco as a great accomplishment, recounting the ultimatum that he gave to Arafat and turning himself into a hero. The interviewer didn't question Bibi about his ridiculous description of the events, preferring to wrap the interview up with depictions of how the Left harassed the former PM. There's nothing like the brotherhood of the oppressed to make the loyal public forget how Netanyahu threw them behind his back the minute that he was elected.
We would need a lot of space to describe all of Netanyahu's failures. His entire term in office was one big betrayal of his voters and a complete denial of his commitments to the National Camp, as he futilely attempted to find favor in the eyes of the media and Israel's Left. There was only one principle to which he stubbornly clung -- Binyamin Netanyahu. That is why the people who were already in his pocket became irrelevant and were thrown away after use without a second thought. But whoever was able to threaten the "Holy Principle --" the Left or Arafat -- were wooed and rewarded at the expense of the disposable first group.
It is enough to recall the pleas of Hebron's Jewish residents to Bibi not to surrender the hills of Abu Sneinah to the terrorists. We all remember the warnings of Orit Struck and Noam Arnon as they described precisely what would happen if terrorists would be given control of the hills that overlook Hebron's Jewish community. It is enough to remember the tears of the parents of Shalhevet Pas, may G-d avenge her blood, who delayed the burial of their murdered baby in the false hope that their tenacity would force the government to re-capture those hills.
That would have been enough.
But the worst disaster that Netanyahu brought upon the National Camp is greater than the sum of his many failures. Netanyahu made the entire National Camp -- against its will -- Oslo supporters.
In the summer of 1995, Israel saw the largest demonstrations in its history. The Rabin government had been elected by a miniscule majority as a result of Rabin's unequivocal promises that he would not negotiate with the PLO, that there would not be a Palestinian State and that he would not retreat from the Golan Heights. We all know what happened next. But what is important to our discussion is the atmosphere on Israel's streets. Ultimately, any government draws its legitimacy from the public.
Massive demonstrations, countless local protests, the beginning of non-violent civil disobedience and the blocking of traffic throughout the entire country all did their part to preserve Israel's honor. They proved to the world that the Nation of Israel did not accept the Oslo Deception. Netanyahu was elected to replace Rabin and Peres. He was carried on the waves of those protests and was given full legitimacy to destroy the Oslo curse.
When Netanyahu, the Nationalist Prime Minister who had replaced the Oslo architects, warmly embraced Arafat, he shattered the dream. It was the most searing slap in the face that the National Camp had ever received. The elected representative of their Camp had legitimized Oslo. The demonstrators -- who had done all they could to get Netanyahu elected -- were left alone to deal with the abusive court system that hounded them for their political opinions. But Prime Minister Netanyahu did not lift a finger. The disposable people had done their job, and it did not really matter what happened to them after that.
For his part, Netanyahu claimed that when he entered office, he was forced to work within the framework of agreements that had already been signed by his predecessors. But that is simple deception. Even if the Oslo Accords had been a water-tight legal document, agreements between states have never lasted when they patently contradict the greater interests of one of the sides. And from a purely legal standpoint, the Oslo Accords were not an agreement between states, but an agreement between a sovereign state and a terror organization. Many legal experts have proven that the Accords are expressly illegal and that Netanyahu had every opportunity to absolve Israel of the insane commitments that it took upon itself when it signed the agreement.
But even if we ignore what should have been Netanyahu's commitment to the lives of Israelis, which should take precedence over agreements with terrorists; even if we ignore the fact that he had no real legal problem if he wanted to nullify the Accords; even if we accept Netanyahu's claim that he was working within the framework of reality that was forced upon him; Arafat came along and gave him the opportunity of a lifetime to bring us all down from the gallows. Just a short while after Netanyahu had become Prime Minister, Israel's citizens watched in horror as Arafat's soldiers aimed the Israeli guns that they had received from Rabin and Peres and killed sixteen Israeli soldiers, one by one. Rabin had always declared that if the Arabs would fire one shot, the IDF would re-conquer all the places that it had surrendered to the Arabs. Netanyahu, the Prime Minister elected by the National Camp, could certainly have adopted Rabin's stance.
Netanyahu had all the escape routes from Oslo open to him, but he preferred to dig his country deeper and deeper into the Oslo pit. He gave Arafat most of Hebron and even added a large quantity of weapons. Netanyahu's unequivocal choice -- made with his own free will and without coercion -- shattered the stubborn opposition to Oslo and dispersed it in every direction. The Right tired of demonstrations. Nobody is willing to sacrifice his liberty or endanger his livelihood to bring another right-wing prime minister into power, only to watch in frustration as he continues on precisely the same path as his left-wing predecessor. Netanyahu's great sin is the dashing of all hope, the planting of despair, the extinguishing of the light at the end of the tunnel.
If, G-d forbid, Netanyahu becomes Prime Minister again, he will once again betray his voters. He will once again court "peace" spins. He will once again sell himself for a positive article in the left-wing newspapers or for applause in the U.S. House of Representatives. He will once again completely spurn the National Camp.
Netanyahu will give the Left the greatest gift that they could ever receive. He will once again give them -- the Right.

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