Moshe Feiglin Interviewed in Maariv

The following interview will appear this Shabbat in the Zman Tel Aviv section of Israel's Maariv newspaper.

Maariv: What are you really looking for in the Likud? Isn't the National Union party a more appropriate political home for you?

Moshe: Leadership.

Maariv: Please explain.

Moshe: I am looking for leadership. The National Union party is made up of fine people who are correct on many issues. But our goals are different. They want to influence the government, while I want to lead. Our country is in a state of decay and collapse. The train is speeding toward the abyss, just as I have been warning since the Oslo Accords. I feel that I understand the essence of the problem and that I must take the steering wheel into my hands.

Maariv: But you lost the primaries. Netanyahu won. Now what?

Moshe: I do not see the primaries as a loss, but rather as progress. I am sorry that the Likud did not unite after its internal race, as is the norm with other political parties in the democratic world. I am encouraged, though, by the fact that I am getting extremely positive feedback at all the other levels of the Likud. Many Likud members tell me that they did not vote for me in the primaries for chairman of the Likud, but they definitely want to see me in the Knesset.

Maariv: Will you be running for the Knesset?

Moshe: Yes.

Maariv: And can you work with Netanyahu?

Moshe: Certainly. We have a lot of common ground.

Maariv: Mr. Feiglin, what is your message to the Israeli public?

Moshe: I think that we must make the Jewish identity of our state our first priority.

Maariv: A theocratic state?

Moshe: Not at all. Israel must be a state that affords its citizens the liberty to express who they really are. I actually oppose religious parties and religious legislation.

Maariv: So what kind of state are you referring to?

Moshe: Israel should be a state in which every child in the educational system studies Jewish identity for one hour daily. Our children should know our history, our land, the Bible and the prayer book. Whether or not they choose to pray from the prayer book is their choice (or that of their parents). But at least they should be familiar with the glorious history and culture that informs who they are today.

Maariv: And what will you do about the Arabs?

Moshe: This may surprise you, but the Arabs are not at the top of my list of worries. I am much more worried by the fact that when the Left wins the elections, we get leftist policies and when the Right wins the elections, we still get leftist policies. In other words, we do not really enjoy democracy in Israel. Instead, we are controlled by dictatorial powers that are not elected and that represent values that contradict the values of the Jewish majority.

Our problems with the Arabs are a reflection of the problems between the Jews. The Left is fanatically anxious to 'solve' the Arab problem so that they will stop reminding them that they are Jews. They erroneously think that if the Arabs no longer hate the Jews, they will also be free of their Jewishness. This psychosis has accompanied the Jewish people for generations. The Arabs have subconsciously identified the obsessive need of Israel's leftist leaders for their recognition. This is a tremendous psychological asset that they use to manipulate us. That is why there will be no peace with the Arabs until we make peace with ourselves.

Maariv: So you are saying that there is no peace because we try to escape our Jewish identity?

Moshe: Right. As soon as we free ourselves of our identity crisis, we will have peace with our neighbors.

Maariv: And what should we do in the meantime?

Moshe: We must stop getting sidetracked by the Arabs and concentrate on the Jews. Israel should give every honorably discharged soldier who wants to get married free land on which to build his home in the Negev, Galilee, Golan, Judea or Samaria. If you travel today along Wadi Ara or the Negev, you will plainly see that the state has de facto provided every new Arab couple with free land.

Secondly, Israel must give its citizens as much freedom of choice as possible. Every citizen should be able to obtain a broadcasting license and to broadcast on both radio and television to his heart's desire (within the confines of Israel's security needs and common morality, of course). Supreme Court justices should be elected by our elected representatives and undergo a Knesset hearing, as is done in America. Israel should have district elections so that our Knesset members would have to answer to their own constituency.

When Israel comes down on the side of liberty and true democracy, it will be free of the identity crisis of the 'enlightened elites' that has been plaguing us ever since the state was born. Israel will be a Jewish state for the Jewish people. At that point we will be able to deal with the challenges facing us - and triumph!