Identity is the Key

By Moshe Feiglin 

Have you noticed that Israel is the only state in the world that does not know how to define its borders? We cannot define our borders because we still have not managed to define our identity. 

The Zehut Movement (and party) are slowly but surely creating the political structure for the seekers of Jewish identity in the Land of Israel. Seekers of Jewish identity are not necessarily seeking personal religious identity, and they are not necessarily seeking rightist, nationalist identity. 

Zehut is creating a political field for those who seek a collective Jewish identity. It is creating a political field for Jewish identity open to all those who seek it, religious and non-religious alike. It is creating a political field for Jewish identity which, based on its perception of liberty, is bringing the vision and meaning embedded in its depths to the forefront of our society. 

No other political party today has attempted to present a national vision based on Jewish values. No one else has tried to distill a joint destiny and meaning for our national life from within this vision. No one else has drawn joyfulness, strength, and new energies from our national destiny. No one else has used our Jewish foundation and values to address all the challenges of our times; both internal issues like economy, housing, education, religion and state – and external issues like security and international relations. 

Over the last few weeks, we have witnessed an accelerated deterioration of public faith in the national mechanisms that have always enjoyed complete public trust. The conduct of senior IDF officials, the justice system and the prosecution toward the IDF soldier who shot and killed a wounded terrorist in Hebron, the suspected false murder conviction of Roman Zadarov, the scathing reaction of the Defense Minister toward criticism and the hysteria of the State Attorney have left a very worrisome impression on the public. It seems that the more faith is lost, the more hard-hearted and cruel these apparatuses become. For if we have decided to arrest a citizen and place him in administrative detention, without an attorney, without a trial and in solitary confinement (because he is so terribly dangerous) then how can we release him for a few hours so that he may attend his son’s brit milah? And if we arrested a soldier who shot a terrorist and attempted to chargehim with “murder”, we must do all that we can to keep him behind bars. Public faith in these institutions is dissipating. 

The only party that presents a vision and meaning for all of this is Zehut. 

It is no coincidence that Zehut is the only party that clearly defines the borders of the State of Israel. 

Because only he who has an identity has borders. 

Only he who has identity knows where he leaves off and where his neighbor begins. 

That is why only Zehut knows who is friend and who is foe. 

Only he who knows how to identify the enemy is capable of defeating him. 

And when the enemy is defeated, the war ends. 

And when the war ends, peace begins.