The Option Not Yet Tried

By Moshe Feiglin

In the last edition of the Nekuda magazine, Amiel Unger wrote that the National Religious public must choose one of two approaches. One, the approach represented by Moshe Feiglin that calls to register for the Likud and to work from within the broader national camp. The other approach calls for combining all the nationalists into one large camp. No matter what, Unger writes, we must focus our efforts and not splinter them.

The attempts to unite the national camp over the past years have produced a vast array of small parties that claimed to unify, but actually served to divide their constituencies. The reason that this happened is simple. There cannot be unity without a common goal. Unity for its own sake does not work.

There is another point that is uncomfortable for the religious public: Every party needs a leader. With the religious parties, nobody is willing to declare that he is the leader, but nobody is willing for his colleague to be the leader, either. At this stage, then, it doesn't seem that the unity approach has much of a chance.

The difference between Manhigut Yehudit and the idea behind the National Union, Jewish Home, Hatikvah, Kommemiut, et al is first and foremost in their definition of the goal. The declared goal - in word and deed - of the sectorial parties is to influence the leaders of the country. Manhigut Yehudit's declared goal is to lead. It is a choice between influence and leadership. At this point, both goals have led to the same place. Even those who simply want to influence, like Effie Eitam, have reached the logical conclusion that they must register for the Likud.

Will those people who have put realism, practicality and influence on a pedestal be willing to swallow their pride and call on all members of the national camp to register for the Likud? Will they take the step that would actually pressure Netanyahu and his ministers? Or will they refuse to admit that Feiglin was right and continue to lead their constituency down a failing path?

Last week, Netanyahu managed to postpone elections for the Likud Central Committee for almost two years. Netanyahu's plan is to dilute the ideological nucleus of the Likud with new, non-ideological members. In other words, Netanyahu is currently afraid of the power of the ideological camp in the Likud. This is actually a great opportunity for the national camp. Massive registration of national camp voters to the Likud will greatly enhance its power in the party. It is the only political act that has a clear affect on Netanyahu's plans to freeze and then abandon Yesha.

On Monday, Amir Oren wrote an article in Ha'aretz that supports our point:

The group photo of Likud is deceptive. The views of most of its members - in the central committee, the Knesset, and even the cabinet - are a lot closer to those of Likud's Moshe Feiglin than of the prime minister on two decisions that reflect a divergence from the party platform: the limited acceptance of a Palestinian state and the settlement construction freeze. The Likud politicians are worried about the revenge of the Feiglinites in the next election. If Netanyahu has the party vote on his surrender to U.S. President Barack Obama, he will lose.

Even if Oren is wrong, it makes no difference. Our goal has never been to force the hands of the Likud ministers. Our goal is to lead the Likud and the nation. In that respect, the entire national camp - from Shas and Lieberman to the Jewish Home and the National Union - are Likudniks.

What??? We are all Likudniks???

Yes, because at the end of the day, the prime ministerial candidate of the national camp will always be the person who heads the Likud - and not any other party. In other words, the Likud actually forces itself on the entire national camp. All of us are Likudniks, whether we choose to be, or not.

The only difference between Manhigut Yehudit and the rest of the national camp is that the Manhigut Yehudit members get to vote for the candidate who will head the Likud and the nation. That is all. There are Likud "members" who have not officially registered and there are Likud Members who have and who can vote for the changes that Israel so desperately needs.