Hatikvah, a new political movement with parliamentary aspirations, made its presence felt this week when it set up a protest tent across from the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. Referring to the color that has come to be associated with the political Right in Israel, Dr. Ron Breiman called Hatikvah the natural home for the "orange seculars."
There is a right-wing segment of the population that is reticent to vote for the National Union.
Dr. Breiman, one of the founders of the Hatikvah movement and a spokesman of Professors for a Strong Israel, spoke with Arutz Sheva TV on Thursday and explained the need for a new right-wing party.
"We are talking about a group of Jews loyal to the Land of Israel, who believe that the Land of Israel belongs to the People of Israel. Most of us are secular - we think that correct nationalist thinking is not only for the religious, but for a very large segment of the secular public, as well," Breiman said.
The new movement includes professors, high-ranking retired army officers, kibbutz and moshav members from all over the country.
"I, personally, for instance, am a settler in Tel Aviv, a settler in Ramat Aviv," Breiman confessed. "I think that for the 'orange seculars' in Ramat Aviv and throughout the center of the country, there is no real address for their vote. We want to be that address for them, in order to return the State of Israel to Zionism. Instead of worrying about the 'right of return' for Arabs, worry about our return to Zionism."
According to Breiman, there is a right-wing segment of the population that is reticent to vote for the National Union, because that party is perceived as focusing on religious voters. On the other hand, those same voters hesitate to vote for the Likud, because they perceive it as a centrist party, not as a right-wing one. "A large breach between the Likud and the National Union has been created," Dr. Breiman explained, "and in that breach there is no one for whom this mostly secular segment can vote."
That said, Hatikvah is not a sectarian party, Breiman emphasized, it is "a nationalist Zionist party that expects the government of Israel, and the parties in Israel, to attend to the needs of the State of Israel... and not as this government does in concerning itself with establishing a state for the enemy...."
The new party's platform rules out the establishment of a foreign entity in the Land of Israel. In addition to citing the tenet that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish People, Dr. Breiman adds, "A Palestinian state is the complete opposite of peace. It is not possible to want peace and also to want a Palestinian state; they do not go together."
Another plank in the Hatikvah platform creates a linkage between voting rights and army or national service. According to the party ideology, service in the armed forces or in the civilian national service would be a precondition for the right to vote.
Dr. Breiman said he hopes the new party will be able to run the next elections. "It is a great pity to have to suffer through the current administration until 2010, as Olmert wants. We want elections as soon as possible."