MK Aryeh Eldad of the Ichud HaLeumi (National Union) warns against relating to Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party as being on the right-wing, nationalist side. "Lieberman is even more left-wing than Kadima on some issues," Eldad says.
“Yes, Lieberman puts on an image of being an Arab-eater," according to Eldad, "one who is very harsh against Arabs, who says we must expel those who don’t express loyalty to the State. But if you look at his platform, it shows he’s for the division of Jerusalem, in favor of a Palestinian state, and even for giving it more territory such as Um el-Fahm and other Arab-populated areas in Wadi Ara [between Hadera and Afula]. He appears to be very right-wing, but when you look at his platform, he’s more left-wing than the Likud, and even more than Kadima in some things.”
*** Eldad spoke on Tuesday with IsraelNationalRadio’s Yishai Fleisher. Click here to hear. Many quotes in this article are paraphrased.
Likud Never Said No to Palestinian State
“Many of the politicians have noticed that the public has moved to the right since the war in Gaza,” Eldad told Fleisher, “but still, the center parties like Likud and Kadima are trying to hide their real intentions about a Palestinian state. The Likud, for instance, has never said that it will turn down the idea of creating a Palestinian state.”
Eldad says that the Likud party has a “very good platform, and some very good people. But the head of the party [Binyamin Netanyahu] is saying that he will fight for settlement blocs – meaning that all the rest will be up for negotiations, and could ultimately turn into a Palestinian state. I cannot see a Palestinian state in the heartland of Israel that will not turn into a terror base, and therefore those who vote for [Likud candidates Moshe] Feiglin and [Tzipi] Hotobeli and [Benny] Begin will be strengthening [the idea] of giving more land to the Arabs. This is exactly what the Likud did the last two times it was in power, under Begin and Sharon, even though they had good people and good platforms.”
Netanyahu Says No More "Unilateral" Withdrawals
Eldad further attacked Netanyahu: “He says there will be no more Disengagements. What this means is that there will be no more unilateral withdrawals, but that he will agree to negotiate the giving away of the Land of Israel!”
Fight Confusion and Apathy, and Vote!
Eldad is concerned that his party will not get enough votes merely because of voter confusion or apathy: “People seem to be still confused over all the changes that the nationalist camp has undergone. Some of them confuse us with the Jewish Home, and some still remember that we ran together with Lieberman six years ago. They must remember that this is a real union of the national camp – four different parties have joined together, at the price of many personal ambitions, to create a coalition that will strive to save the Land of Israel. This is what unites us."
Eldad concluded: "The threat to our land is so severe, the clouds are so dark, the pressure from the US to accept a Palestinian state is so threatening, that we must gather everyone together to vote for this cause. If we want to save the Land, we must vote Tet [the Hebrew letter that was assigned to the party by the Elections Committee]!”