After the recent primary election between Moshe Feiglin and Bibi Netanyahu for head of the Likud party, in which Moshe garnered at least 1/3 of the vote [ed: and we will never know the final tally due to massive voting ‘irregularities’], Manhigut Yehudit held a post-election rally on March 1. Many high-profile Likud MKs and Ministers attended, and they all spoke highly of Moshe. Here are some highlights of their speeches, and then a fewwords of Moshe’s to wrap up the evening:
Click here to view the video.
Minister Israel Katz: I am coming here now, straight from Itamar. I said there and I will say it here—there will still be very very very many Itamars throughout the Land of Israel. In the Shomrom, the Galilee, Judah, in all corners of the Land of Israel.
Whoever comes to murder Jews, to hurt them in the lowliest way in order to deter, scare, and expel, that person will attain exactly the opposite. Also in Itamar.
My views are very clear, and I am willing to say them here. I support the law to legalize the settlement, which was established with the support of the government. I am against house demolitions. Anyways, who will it satisfy? Will it satisfy the Palestinians? If you just take down a house in Migron, will they sign a peace treaty with us?
Believe me, Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] is much more interested in the house in Tzfat that he claims belongs to him, than in the house in Migron. He is ready for the house in Migron to remain and that you should evacuate the houses in Tzfat.
Although Moshe was a few years younger than me in yeshiva, both of us received the same education from Rabbi Chaim Druckman, and we believe in mutual respect. Every person has his own lifestyle. That is the basis, and it is an important value. I bless you on the amazing work you have been doing, and I extend my hand to you in the most positive way. I want to work together, and as the chairman of the Likud Secretariat, cooperate in all of the different frameworks in which I have influence. I think we need to work together.
Knesset Member Gilad Erdan: I really want to join you in the blessings, first and foremost to my friend, to our friend, Moshe Feiglin, on the very, very, very impressive achievement in these elections. This is democracy. Although the media is not willing to accept democracy when the outcome does not fit its viewpoint, nonetheless, this is still democracy. We are all here, and Manhigut Yehudit is operating according to the rules of the democracy. You represent values that, as [Knesset member] Tzipi [Hotovely] said at the beginning of the conference, are values that will guide the Likud.
Leadership for Am Yisrael is very different from any type of leadership in the world because in the world, a leader can be very talented, and only make decisions on a rational basis. But if we had operated according to rational decisions, I do not think that we would have announced the establishment of the State of Israel at the time that they declared statehood. But a leader in the state of Israel has to have faith.
Rashi [Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki] says that this is the most basic requirement, that this is true Jewish leadership, more than anything else. He says, [in Psalms 111:6] “He has declared the power of His deeds to His people, to give them the inheritance of nations” [ie. the Land of Israel]. With all of the arguments about security, and who was here first, and who will be here after, and if we were here thousands of years, and if they were here for decades, because they were expelled or not expelled. All of this is important, but it is much less important than the most basic and significant fact; The most basic and significant fact is that whoever created the world, He is the one who will decide whether this Land belongs to the Jewish people. This is what needs to direct us, and I think that this, even if I do not agree with Moshe Feiglin on all subjects, I think that this basic value is the value that will unite us, and everyone who wants to govern within the Likud.
Knesset Member Miri Regev: First of all, Moshe, I want to bless you on Manhigut Yehudit’s great success. I think, and I said this back then, that there is place for everyone within the Likud—the public decides. The Likud is a grassroots movement, large, and united, and there is a place for every person who goes with their truth. You chose a path, and you are not afraid. That, in my eyes, is true leadership because all of us, or at least most of us, are people who follow the herd, going after people who they see as winners. We do not like to be minority. We do not like to be in the position where the media is speaking against us. We do not like to be in the position where we must apologize and explain ourselves. Whoever has a path that he is not afraid of, and he goes on this path through thick and thin, even when he knows that he will not win, but he says, this is my camp, I am going with this - that person will win in the end, and today we are here because, in essence, you beat the system.
You beat the system, and with this I would like to connect to Minister Erdan’s words. The time has come to re-staff all of the Likud’s institutions. The dust has been there for ten years already. The time has come for us to stand up and say, “The party belongs to everyone, and not to one person.” The party is transparent. We need to stop being afraid to say the truth, even if it is not popular. Let’s take off the masks. Let’s get closer to our truth, and let’s go with the ideals that we believe in.
Knesset Member Ayub Karah: This situation reminds me slightly of what happened with Menachem Begin, for whoever read his book. People who were pushed to the side a little, they always had the power to push through in the end. I have no doubt that Moshe Feiglin is worthy of being with us. That he is worthy of being one of the leaders of the Likud, and he will be with Hashem’s help.
Your presence within the Likud, your dominance within the Likud can only add a lot to our privilege of guarding this state, guarding this Land. As long as we persevere, as long as we are strong - that is the language that they understand in this area because there is no difference between Migron and Hebron and Tel-Aviv. There is no difference.
Knesset Member Zeev Elkin (Coalition Chairman): We are finishing here a stage in our internal organization for the Likud, and everyone who looks today at the new Likud Central Committee will see one very, very, very clear fact. There were many rumors, with people saying that they want to do things according to this approach, to change to a different approach. One outcome is very clear—the national, right-wing force within the Likud Central Committee, no matter how you look at it, grew bigger and is growing in a significant way. The people sitting here have a very, very significant role in bringing this about. They were the first who understood the significance of the internal democratic process, and the proper way to guard the Likud as a nationalistic party. The way is through influencing from within, and when this reaches a critical mass, it influences the entire movement. For figuring out this method, Moshe, I think that you deserve to register a patent.
Knesset member Jamal Zahalka said to me, “I do not believe what my eyes are seeing. I knew that the Right knows how to win elections, but I never thought that you would actually want to wield power. I do not know what happened to you . But this time, for some reason, you have decided that you want to rule, and that changes the rules of the game. We didn’t agree to this. We didn’t agree that you would not only win, but that you would also wield power.
Once, I heard from Ehud Olmert, the head of the last government, who almost brought upon us a disaster, by trying to sell all of Judah and Samaria, an interesting statement. He said, “I had a lot of roles in politics, and always, in every role, I had someone to call if I had a problem. But suddenly, when I sat in the Prime Minister’s chair, when I want to come to someone with a problem, I turn around, and all I can see is a picture of myself on the wall.” This is why it is so hard to be an Israeli Prime Minister.
I told him then, and I think that this is very, very true, and this is the path that you have raised, like a flag, and I agree with you on this idea completely. Sometimes we have tactical disagreements, but on principles, I think that you have recognized a very central point. Because when a politician looks at the wall, and all he sees is a picture of himself, in the end there will be a problem. If there is no problem today, there will be a problem tomorrow. But every person who knows also how to look upward, understands that even when he sits in the Prime Minister’s seat, and thinks about what will happen, he has Someone to whom he is accountable.
In the end, this is what will straighten out the political arena according to a set of nationalist goals. I bless you for going in this path. Up to this point, we cooperated on a lot of issues, and you asked a question about Migron. Just yesterday, I had a phone conversation with Moshe about what we should do about this issue, and we are cooperating on a lot of issues. That is how it has been up to now, and that is how it will be from now on, and I believe that the Likud will become stronger in going towards this path. Right now we are at the stage when we will be holding elections for the Likud’s institutions, and this path, in the end, must win. Good evening.
Knesset Member Danny Danon: Good evening to all of you. At the beginning of Adar, we increase our happiness, and in truth, there is a lot of joy in this room.
We are all happy about Moshe Feiglin’s impressive achievement, Manhigut Yehudit’s achievement, and I value Moshe and Manhigut Yehudit on their courage to run in these elections. The courage to say, "I believe in this, and I am running in these elections."
When I announced that I would be running for head of the Central Committee, I did not think that my opponent would be the Prime Minister. Now, wait a second; I am a Jew who believes in God, all of us are believers, and the Torah portion for that week was the portion about Jethro. When I met the Prime Minister, I asked him, “Are you really running?” I said, “Did you read the weekly Torah portion? In the portion, Jethro, who was the first political advisor, the best that there was, better than all of us, comes to Moses and says, what are you doing, you cannot do everything, you cannot judge everyone.” With all due respect to the Prime Minister, and I respect him and value him very much, Moses also knew how to delegate responsibility, to hand out tasks, how to let other people be active participants within the camp, for Am Yisrael, and this is what we shall do in the upcoming committee—we will get there together and united. We will make sure that the committee will be fair, transparent, with clear rules. To summarize it all, I believe, and I am not afraid. Thank you.
Knesset Member Tzipi Hotovely: Purim is the holiday of costumes. Everyone knows that for too much time in the Likud they gave legitimacy to those who said that Manhigut Yehudit is a group of people who dressed up like Likudniks. My friends, let’s say the truth: they are as Likud as you can be, Manhigut Yehudit.
There is no opposition today for the Likud’s current leadership, and without Manhigut Yehudit, we would have also seen a deterioration of values, and an erosion of its ideology within the Likud. It’s good that Manhigut Yehudit is here, to remind us all, what the line is, what the destination is, and most importantly, not to forget that there is a vision. My friends, Knesset members and ministers, we represent a Likud that is willing to come out of the closet, and not just to say what the media wants to hear, but, instead, to say the truth. From here we have, in essence, wall to wall support. Not only in secret, but in truth, in the most open and truthful manner. Today we are giving you a hand to say, you are an inseparable part of the Likud movement. This evening is the evening in which we say this in the most open manner.
Moshe Feiglin: Sometimes I think to myself at night, you know, just dreaming. Tell me, if you are elected tomorrow, who will be in your government? I have to tell you that in the last Knesset, I wasn’t really sure what to say. But in the current Knesset, I want to tell you - I feel completely comfortable with a large section of the Likud Knesset list, and the people currently on the list.
The feeling is that there are just really great people within the Likud. I think that we are really standing on solid ground on this, thank G-d. We can also pat ourselves on the back. We did something. There is a really amazing roster, with a lot of people who are very talented, and believers. We see this. The Likud is not a secular party, as Tommy Lapid once asked me on his program, when he said, “What are you doing there, this is a secular party.” I said, the Likud is not a secular party; it is a traditional party, and a party of the people. The Likud is the real Israel, and with it we can go forward, leading the way for Am Yisrael.
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