Better late than never, eh Bibi? Come on in. Contenders to the right, pretenders to the left. So where do you fit in, Binyamin Netanyahu?
Suddenly, in an epiphany, you have discovered the value of Jewish education. So, pray tell, what exactly were you doing while your erstwhile fellow Likudniks continued the tradition of gutting the education ministry during Ariel Sharon's last stand with the Likud? Yes, yes, I know you were busy running the Finance Ministry, and you actually did a fairly decent job of it, as the economy will now testify; however, you left much undone, such as not breaking the Histadrut when you had the chance (did you think Amir Peretz and his hoods would vote for you?), and, as shown in the infamous photo below, voting for the Disengagement of Gush Katif and then resigning from the government when it suited your political purposes.
 


You are an excellent spokesperson. You were a solid Finance Minister. You were a disaster as Prime Minister and would be so again. Your decisions on Hevron haunt us to this day, including the murder of Shalhevet Pass. Your inability to stand up to Bill Clinton at Wye River and to at least come home with Jonathan Pollard shows a serious lack of backbone. Your failure to get Israel off the narcotic of US aid money shows serious follow-through issues. Your political zigzagging is all the more painful when one considers the promise that you had. Yes, you had the ability to be one of Israel's greatest leaders and all you are missing is one small thing. A thing called emunah, yiras shamayim or, as we here in Manhigut Yehudit call it, Jewish Identity.


Yes, Jewish education is a key ingredient in Manhigut Yehudit's platform, Bibi. Obviously, you were paying attention to Moshe Feiglin as he closed in on you from nowhere in the last Likud primaries. Obviously, you were so terrified of him, you resorted to all sorts of dirty little tricks to try to get him thrown out of the party before realizing that you would end up alienating Natan Sharansky, Yuli Edelstein and a large block of Likudniks that back Feiglin.


So, now that Manhigut Yehudit controls the largest solid block of voters in Likud, what will you do this time? Will you try to fight a fair fight against Feiglin? Will you even have the courage to debate him? Will you try to convince people that you truly have discovered J

Which murderer's hand will you shake this time, Bibi?

ewish Identity so that other pretenders will claim that they can "influence" you from behind the scenes?


What about the current shame of the Temple Mount, Bibi? What about "more painful concessions," Bibi? What about the massive corruption, Bibi? Which murderer's hand will you shake this time, Bibi? You see, the people are starting to slowly come out of their anesthetized state. Maybe that's why, in a recent poll of Israeli voters, almost 2/3 said that you, Tzippi Livni, and Ehud Olmert were all non-choices.


If you can convince people that you truly have changed and that you now have more than the typical Israeli hack politician's 12-hour planning horizon, then perhaps you deserve to be Prime Minister. Then again, maybe not. Although, if the people actually vote you in, then perhaps they deserve what they will get. I find it amazing that you somehow manage to induce amnesia in a significant number of people, including some otherwise superb journalists who would actually back you.


So, do us a favor Bibi. Let Moshe run the Likud and then the country. Be the Finance Minister or Ambassador to the United Nations or anywhere else that you can get your picture on the news and slice up ignorant, bigoted, BBC reporters - because that is what you are good at. You are not a leader. As your secular fellow Likudnik Moshe Peled said, secular leadership is no longer appropriate for Israel. And just as importantly, whether or not they agree or disagree with him, you will never get the reaction from the Israeli "little guy" that Feiglin invokes.


That reaction? "Ish yashar." ("An honest man.")