A group of concerned citizens in Beit El invited several leaders of the political Right to a panel discussion on the proper course for the National Camp in the next round of elections. Ultimately, the only politicians who turned up at the hall on Tuesday were Knesset Member Effie Eitam of the National Union party and Moshe Feiglin, head of the Jewish Leadership faction within the Likud party.
The two leaders represented differing approaches as to the best strategy for the National Camp, with Eitam emphasizing political unity among the nationalist parties and Feiglin focusing on the ultimate goal of installing a faith-based, ideological leadership for the nation as a whole.
Can't see the video? Click here for interviews with Eitam and Feiglin.
Eitam, who is heading a new faction called Achi ("My Brother") within the National Union, agreed with Feiglin that the leadership crisis runs deeper than the political level. "It's a crisis of vision and values," which he believes the national-religious community is best capable of addressing, Eitam told INN TV. "It's our time to unite and show the way to the rest of the people of Israel."
In his remarks to the Beit El gathering, MK Eitam warned against "missing a fateful moment for the future of the state, resulting from this deep leadership crisis," and failing to unify nationalist forces in a single political list.
Feiglin, on the other hand, feels that political unity of National Camp parties will have no serious impact on the direction the state is going. He said, "Another yarmulkeh (skullcap) in the Knesset - we're not going to gain anything from it. What's important is that we will hold the wheel and save this sinking Titanic."
Responding to Eitam's vision, Feiglin belittled the plethora of small National Camp parties that have come and gone in recent years: "I would sign off on 99% of the things you said, but the things you said are not relevant, because your words point in one direction, but your legs are moving in the opposite direction."
Eitam did not ignore the challenge Feiglin posed by insisting on a revolution from within the mainstream Likud party. He suggested that the Jewish Leadership approach has failed to show results: "If we had seen that this strategy succeeded in getting in one single Knesset Member... I would say: You know what? Maybe there is something to it."
Feiglin plans to continue to strive for national leadership through political maneuvering within the Likud, currently the largest single party in the National Camp. Recalling that he received 25% of the vote in Likud primaries last year, Feiglin told INN TV that had he been working within the Likud not alone, but alongside Eitam, Eldad and other ideological allies, "for sure we would have had the leadership of the State of Israel already."
Earlier this month, MK Uri Ariel told Arutz Sheva Radio that the pro-Land of Israel parties are renegotiating a common political framework for the upcoming elections. The parties potentially running on a unified list are to include the National Religious Party and the constituent member parties of the National Union: Moledet, Achi, and MK Ariel's Tekumah faction. Another new player on the political Right is the Hatikvah movement, billed as a secular nationalist alternative, led by National Union MK Aryeh Eldad. It is not yet clear if Hatikvah will run as an independent political entity or remain a movement within an existing party.