A strong case stands against Manhigut Yehudit (the Jewish Leadership faction in the Likud party), and the time has come for an indictment.
The Flawed Strategy
The name of Manhigut Yehudit's game is infiltration of the most powerful party in the country in hopes of taking it over from the inside and one day ruling the state of Israel. Moshe Feiglin, therefore, encourages people to support the Likud in hopes that he will gain enough supporters to vote him to the head of the party. In light of the Likud's performance over the last five years in particular, Manhigut Yehudit's strategy is, at the very least, strongly misguided.
There are thousands of good Jews in Israel who currently see Manhigut Yehudit as the redemption's best bet. No doubt its leader Moshe Feiglin has had a staunch record as a wholesome activist and nationalist ideologue. Additionally, Manhigut's literature is full of pious rhetoric that appeals to the Jewish people's sense of pride in a way that groups like National Union or the National Religious Party (NRP) never have. For this, Moshe Feiglin is identified by many as the heir apparent to the leadership of the authentic Right in Israel.
This would all be great was it not for one striking and undeniable problem: Manhigut Yehudit and Moshe Feiglin are members of the pro-"Palestinian" Likud party. Therefore, Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit's current strategy must be debunked; and they must leave the Likud before more permanent damage is done to the authentic Right's hopes of ever attaining parliamentary success and political reform.
The Case Against Manhigut Yehudit
Just weeks before the Jewish expulsion from Gush Katif, Moshe Feiglin stated before a crowd of supporters, on Israeli television: "There will be no disengagement, because we will not allow it!" Clearly, Feiglin was opposed to the expulsion, as his statements indicate he wanted to prevent it.
Immediately following the IDF's final departure from Gush Katif, Moshe Feiglin, on Israel National Radio, accused Likud Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz of being "the biggest criminal in Israel, after he did what he did to 10,000 Jews," condemning Mofaz's hand in the so-called "disengagement".
If the inherent contradiction between the attitudes these statements portray and Moshe Feiglin's continued presence within the Likud is not clear, then read the following argument recently posed by Professor Paul Eidelberg on Israel National Radio's Activist Hour with Avi Hyman:
Moshe Feiglin encouraged unknown numbers of people to join a party that promoted an agenda openly in favor of a "Palestinian" state in the 2003 election. That after this the Likud chose to expel its own citizens from Gush Katif was not huge leap. Thus, Manhigut Yehudit has assisted the anti-Zionist agenda of Ariel Sharon and shares culpability with the rest of the Likud party for the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif.
Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit are guilty of unwittingly aiding and abetting the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif, and for any and all other injustices committed upon the individual families uprooted from there; and for any threats inflicted upon the present and future safety of the Jewish people as a result.
However, despite Feiglin's transgressions, it boggles the mind to consider how many people support his continuing within the Likud, praising his every move. This being an allowance his supporters would never grant to the member of any other party. No one would ever forgive Effie Eitam or Benny Elon for joining the Likud and remaining within it throughout the expulsion, even under the premise of trying to take it over from the inside. Yet, Feiglin, who is a member of the Likud, can do no wrong. At what point will his supporters draw the line?
To The Rebuttal
The argument that disengagement was an unintended consequence of Manhigut Yehudit's Likud support is feeble at best. The argument, as Feiglin stated in a recent Jerusalem Post interview, that "Um, the evil decree came from the Knesset" and not from the Likud party, is straightforwardly pathetic and represents a classic case of denial. Feiglin's need for mass and lasting appeal appears to have skewed his vision.
To Manhigut Yehudit's Supporters
If you are still committed to remaining a member of the party of expulsion by way of Manhigut Yehudit, despite its now undressed record, consider the following:
The Likud is, by its very nature, based on egoism, corruption and deceit. How can being a part of that not affect you? As Moshe Feiglin once told the present writer regarding Zo Artzeinu's political aspirations on a US speaking tour some years ago: "You can't swim in the mud without getting dirty."
Feiglin's attempt to reform the Likud is as pointless as a rabbi joining the Catholic Church in order to convince its members to return to Christianity's Jewish roots. No matter how much support he has, it's just not going to happen.
There must be a moral limit to Manhigut's Likud experiment, and that limit was reached, at the very latest, with the Jewish expulsion from Gush Katif. What point is there to sit in the Likud and fight for its leadership if, all along, the world crumbles down around you?
If, despite the evidence, you decide to remain in Manhigut Yehudit then know that you are thoroughly entrenched in the Sabbatean cult of Feiglin, and he will bring you no more redemption than Ariel Sharon, himself a former messiah of days now gone by.
To Moshe Feiglin
You have already missed various historic opportunities for making yourself a truly relevant force in Israel. The moment soldiers entered Gush Katif is the moment that Manhigut Yehudit should have stormed out of the Likud, amidst burning wrath, carrying with it the inertia of the orange movement. Now that this opportunity is gone, you must reevaluate what role you are going to play in the history of the Jewish redemption. Your only chance for redemption lies in leaving the Likud. If you lead a truly worthy cause, then you won't need the Likud to lead the State of Israel anyway. The only question that remains is: are you too far into the mud to see the truth?
[The author of this article can be heard on this week's Activist Hour, with Avi Hyman, where he was a guest show host and elaborated on "The Case Against Manhigut Yehudit", pleading that Moshe Feiglin leave the Likud and lead an anti-establishment party to victory in the future Israeli elections.]
The Flawed Strategy
The name of Manhigut Yehudit's game is infiltration of the most powerful party in the country in hopes of taking it over from the inside and one day ruling the state of Israel. Moshe Feiglin, therefore, encourages people to support the Likud in hopes that he will gain enough supporters to vote him to the head of the party. In light of the Likud's performance over the last five years in particular, Manhigut Yehudit's strategy is, at the very least, strongly misguided.
There are thousands of good Jews in Israel who currently see Manhigut Yehudit as the redemption's best bet. No doubt its leader Moshe Feiglin has had a staunch record as a wholesome activist and nationalist ideologue. Additionally, Manhigut's literature is full of pious rhetoric that appeals to the Jewish people's sense of pride in a way that groups like National Union or the National Religious Party (NRP) never have. For this, Moshe Feiglin is identified by many as the heir apparent to the leadership of the authentic Right in Israel.
This would all be great was it not for one striking and undeniable problem: Manhigut Yehudit and Moshe Feiglin are members of the pro-"Palestinian" Likud party. Therefore, Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit's current strategy must be debunked; and they must leave the Likud before more permanent damage is done to the authentic Right's hopes of ever attaining parliamentary success and political reform.
The Case Against Manhigut Yehudit
Just weeks before the Jewish expulsion from Gush Katif, Moshe Feiglin stated before a crowd of supporters, on Israeli television: "There will be no disengagement, because we will not allow it!" Clearly, Feiglin was opposed to the expulsion, as his statements indicate he wanted to prevent it.
Immediately following the IDF's final departure from Gush Katif, Moshe Feiglin, on Israel National Radio, accused Likud Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz of being "the biggest criminal in Israel, after he did what he did to 10,000 Jews," condemning Mofaz's hand in the so-called "disengagement".
If the inherent contradiction between the attitudes these statements portray and Moshe Feiglin's continued presence within the Likud is not clear, then read the following argument recently posed by Professor Paul Eidelberg on Israel National Radio's Activist Hour with Avi Hyman:
"By urging people to register for the Likud, Feiglin aroused and magnified Likud consciousness among many voters in the 2003 election. And he thereby contributed - how much, no one knows - to the Likud winning 38 Knesset seats; and that total enabled Sharon to dominate the nationalist parties in his cabinet, which means that the Jewish Leadership [Manhigut Yehudit] movement contributed to anti-Jewish leadership. This is the irony of his presence in the Likud party.... If Likud got two extra seats as a consequence of this... it has had serious consequences.... If the Likud had won fewer seats, those seats would have gone to National Union and Mafdal [NRP] and perhaps Herut, and this would have prevented disengagement. Remember, the present Sharon-Peres government was confirmed by the Knesset by a mere vote of 58 to 56, so a couple of seats here or there could have made all the difference in the world."The Verdict
Moshe Feiglin encouraged unknown numbers of people to join a party that promoted an agenda openly in favor of a "Palestinian" state in the 2003 election. That after this the Likud chose to expel its own citizens from Gush Katif was not huge leap. Thus, Manhigut Yehudit has assisted the anti-Zionist agenda of Ariel Sharon and shares culpability with the rest of the Likud party for the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif.
Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit are guilty of unwittingly aiding and abetting the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif, and for any and all other injustices committed upon the individual families uprooted from there; and for any threats inflicted upon the present and future safety of the Jewish people as a result.
However, despite Feiglin's transgressions, it boggles the mind to consider how many people support his continuing within the Likud, praising his every move. This being an allowance his supporters would never grant to the member of any other party. No one would ever forgive Effie Eitam or Benny Elon for joining the Likud and remaining within it throughout the expulsion, even under the premise of trying to take it over from the inside. Yet, Feiglin, who is a member of the Likud, can do no wrong. At what point will his supporters draw the line?
To The Rebuttal
The argument that disengagement was an unintended consequence of Manhigut Yehudit's Likud support is feeble at best. The argument, as Feiglin stated in a recent Jerusalem Post interview, that "Um, the evil decree came from the Knesset" and not from the Likud party, is straightforwardly pathetic and represents a classic case of denial. Feiglin's need for mass and lasting appeal appears to have skewed his vision.
To Manhigut Yehudit's Supporters
If you are still committed to remaining a member of the party of expulsion by way of Manhigut Yehudit, despite its now undressed record, consider the following:
The Likud is, by its very nature, based on egoism, corruption and deceit. How can being a part of that not affect you? As Moshe Feiglin once told the present writer regarding Zo Artzeinu's political aspirations on a US speaking tour some years ago: "You can't swim in the mud without getting dirty."
Feiglin's attempt to reform the Likud is as pointless as a rabbi joining the Catholic Church in order to convince its members to return to Christianity's Jewish roots. No matter how much support he has, it's just not going to happen.
There must be a moral limit to Manhigut's Likud experiment, and that limit was reached, at the very latest, with the Jewish expulsion from Gush Katif. What point is there to sit in the Likud and fight for its leadership if, all along, the world crumbles down around you?
If, despite the evidence, you decide to remain in Manhigut Yehudit then know that you are thoroughly entrenched in the Sabbatean cult of Feiglin, and he will bring you no more redemption than Ariel Sharon, himself a former messiah of days now gone by.
To Moshe Feiglin
You have already missed various historic opportunities for making yourself a truly relevant force in Israel. The moment soldiers entered Gush Katif is the moment that Manhigut Yehudit should have stormed out of the Likud, amidst burning wrath, carrying with it the inertia of the orange movement. Now that this opportunity is gone, you must reevaluate what role you are going to play in the history of the Jewish redemption. Your only chance for redemption lies in leaving the Likud. If you lead a truly worthy cause, then you won't need the Likud to lead the State of Israel anyway. The only question that remains is: are you too far into the mud to see the truth?
[The author of this article can be heard on this week's Activist Hour, with Avi Hyman, where he was a guest show host and elaborated on "The Case Against Manhigut Yehudit", pleading that Moshe Feiglin leave the Likud and lead an anti-establishment party to victory in the future Israeli elections.]