There is a growing political sub-culture in Israel that is united by three fundamental beliefs:
1. Israel's war with the Arabs is caused not by the Arabs' desire for one more Arab state, but rather by their desire for one less Jewish state.
2. The failure of many Israelis to acknowledge this point despite all evidence to the contrary represents a severe crisis of identity. While some Israelis are simply over-invested in failed ideologies and policies, for others the problem is deeper: apparently it is hard for some people to imagine that the fact of their Jewishness is taken more seriously by their enemies than by themselves.
3. It is precisely those who suffer most acutely from this crisis of identity who wield disproportionate power in many of Israel's unelected establishments, including the press, the courts, the prosecution, the diplomatic corps, and the security forces.
Open any religious or nationalist publication in Israel and you will find that most articles are devoted to proving yet again one of the above theses. One can hardly escape the impression that the energy so extravagantly expended on proving the obvious has simply been displaced from its natural outlet, namely, improving the situation. To be sure, we can no more easily remedy some Israelis' hostility to Judaism than we can remedy Arab hostility to Jews. But the legislative and social tools for dislodging the self-appointing elite have been available for some time. They have not been used.
The truth must be told. Jewish nationalists in Israel are somewhat like adolescents: we'd rather complain about the deficiencies of those in charge than be in charge ourselves. We are full of bluster about the need for greater Jewish political and cultural assertiveness but not sufficiently confident about the practicality of our vision to risk assuming the kind of power that would put it to the test. For some that vision is so precious and grandiose that it could only be sullied by actual use; for others it is so thin and insubstantial that it would evaporate under inspection.
The time has come to put up or shut up. The post-Jewish political culture of the Israeli left has failed spectacularly. Jewish nationalists must now step forward and offer an alternative vision that is substantive and sustainable and must have the courage to take the necessary steps to realize it. We can and must strive towards a public culture rooted in Jewish traditions and sensibilities. We can and must seek to decisively defeat our enemies rather than to appease them, to gain the respect of world powers rather than to find favor in their eyes. We can and must nurture a more natural relationship with Jews abroad based on common history, culture and fraternity and free of paternalism in either direction.
Let's start by throwing the bums out.
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Moshe Koppel is a member of the Manhigut Yehudit faction of the Likud
central committee.