Vote Buying Back in Likud?:

By Moshe Feiglin

Israel's media focused this week on two former government ministers who went to jail for corruption. These former ministers were convicted of stealing money, certainly a serious crime. But at the very same time, the media has been ignoring a far more serious crime-in-the-making.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is attempting to steal the Likud in two stages. First, he is gearing up to nullify the Likud requirement that new members must wait 16 months before being allowed to vote in internal party elections. Without having to wait 16 months, he can register tens of thousands of new members for the Likud - entire Arab villages and worker's unions - people who do not identify at all with the party's constitution - and then instruct them to vote for his henchmen in the upcoming Likud Central Committee elections. These new voters can tip the scales in Bibi's favor on any issue that he desires. In particular, he can count on them to tip the Likud scales in favor of surrendering Judea and Samaria to our enemies. This will allow Bibi to hand over the Land of Israel to our enemies in an entirely "democratic" manner. After all, he will have received the approval of the Likud's governing body.

Just a few years ago, the Likud was notorious for vote buying. But then, with hard background work by Manhigut Yehudit, the Likud passed a rule requiring new members to wait 16 months before being allowed to cast their votes in primaries. Why 16 months? So that the new member would have to pay his annual dues twice - from his own pocket.

Unlike Manhigut Yehudit, which registers new voters on a strictly ideological basis, Netanyahu's people are using other methods to convince new members to register for the Likud. Ariel Sharon and his son Omri had used vote buying to expand the Likud membership base from approximately 100,000 to approximately 300,000 in almost no time. Entire Arab clans from Jaffa suddenly became ardent Likudniks. The Arabs of Lod inexplicably became enamored with Jabotinsky's ideology. Government employees mysteriously discovered that they were Likud members - without their knowledge, or even worse, against their will.

The Arab clans and union heads didn't register their people out of sudden ideological fervor. They did it because it was worth their while. Very worth their while. The new members did not pay the membership dues from their pockets. The tax payer did.

The damage to Israel's democracy was immense. If this type of illegal manipulation could occur in Israel's ruling party, what was left of the democratic process? After the institution of the 16 month waiting period initiated by Manhigut Yehudit, the Likud once again represented the national camp. Sharon understood that he had lost his power base, defected from the Likud and established the Kadimah party.

The cleansing of the Likud became a feather in the Likud cap. Time and again Netanyahu and other Likud leaders pointed proudly to the fact that proper laws of governance had once again been instituted in their party. "We have no more vote buying," Netanyahu declared, and the rest of the ministers proclaimed the achievement throughout Israel. "True," they admitted, "we had some unpleasant phenomena, but we have learned our lesson, cleaned our stables and today we are the cleanest and most honest party in Israel."

But all the laws of good governance mean nothing when it comes time to carry out the Left's policies. Somehow, the will to rid Israel of its Land will always drive the Likud leadership to corruption. Netanyahu knows that if the Likud will truly represent the will of its constituency, it will not allow him to carry out his intended betrayal of the Land of Israel and its voters. So he has to buy votes and dilute the strong concentration of ideological voters in the party.

There is certainly an easy step that everybody can take to counter Bibi's vote-buying efforts, save our land from corrupt politicians and keep it in our hands. Now is the time to register for the Likud! More and more people are doing it. This is the best way to convince Bibi that by nullifying the 16 month waiting period he has everything to lose.

Do you really want to stop the bulldozers before they reach Ofra and Beit El? Register for the Likud, register you friends and family and continue to reach out to everyone who has not yet registered.