Friday, August 18, 2017

Personal Democracy and Ideological Dictatorship


By Moshe Feiglin

Can anybody explain to me the difference between the Likud’s two-state-solution and the Labor party’s?

Between Lapid’s proposal to divide the Land and Bennett’s?

Israeli politics no longer represents ideas - just people and political camps.

We are a personal-level democracy, but an ideological dictatorship. We are invited to vote for one of many people. But we can choose only one idea.

The Likud took it one step further. The party didn’t even bother to publicize its platform before the previous elections. Essentially, it was saying to its voters: “We don’t have policies, just political camps. Give us an open check for any policies we please.”

In an ideological dictatorship, when the voting slip has no meaning, it is only natural that citizens who wish to influence policy will become members of various parties and attempt to steer them from inside.

Many Israelis who seek a truly ideological party with a broad and detailed platform – a platform that includes both political Right and true liberalism and solid Jewish identity – will have a true party to vote for in the next elections: A party of ideas and not just people. For those Israelis, Zehut has restored the right of democratic elections. They no longer have to sneak into the large parties. They have their own party to vote for.

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