Brigadier-General (res.) Tzvika Fogel is in place ten on the joint Religious Zionism-Otzma Yehudit list and as such is expected to enter the next Knesset, as polls consistently predict the party gaining over ten seats. Israel National News spoke with him to discuss his decision to enter the world of politics and to join Otzma Yehudit.
"Throughout my years as a defense analyst I watched as things I considered to be important were consistently not addressed," Fogel said. "I realized that I could not guarantee that the country my children would inherit would be better than the country I myself grew up in. It was then that I told my family that I had to do something about this, and that the way to do so was via politics."
Asked whether his family was somewhat disturbed at his decision to ally himself with a party that is perceived as extremist right-wing, Fogel replied, "No - they told me that I had to find my own path and that they would be behind me. I got to know Itamar [Ben-Gvir, Otzma Yehudit's leader] several months ago and we have had a great many discussions, including many late-night telephone calls lasting into the early hours of the morning. I came to realize that we see eye-to-eye on most things and it was only natural for me to join his party. Of course I knew that such a step would prompt a lot of talk, but 'a person with faith does not fear.'"
Fogel added that the Ben-Gvir he got to know was considerably different from the Ben-Gvir portrayed in the media. "The press portrays him as a provocateur, a racist, and a homophobe. But the Ben-Gvir of today is not the same Ben-Gvir of thirty years ago. When I truly listened to what he had to say, I realized that I believe in his way of seeing things, and that he has changed over the years. Today, he is the head of a party and a movement that understands that use of force is not the way to go and that extremism is only preferred if it will ensure the future of the Jewish People. These were ideas that I readily concurred with, even though I'm a secular general - and the party's ranks are open to people like me, unlike what the media would have you believe.
"It was an easy decision to make to join the party," he added. "I believe that this is where I will have the greatest ability to influence the future of the Jewish People, far more than in any other party. My goal is to work for the benefit of a Jewish, democratic, nationalist and Zionist country. I want to see sovereignty imposed, governance strengthened, and settlements expanded. We have to strengthen our hold on the land against the view of the left-wing parties who don't see the Land of Israel as of primary importance - they favor a 'state of all its citizens' which means, essentially, that we won't have a Jewish state. If we do not succeed in this struggle, we will lose our hold on the State of Israel. We have been talking about sovereignty for years, but unfortunately, no one has done anything about it."
Asked whether he is concerned that being identified with an extremist right-wing party will limit his options for achieving his goals - and whether he might have more success from within a more centrist party - Fogel responded that centrist parties, throughout the country's history, have done nothing to achieve the goals he sees as essential.
"If today's left-wing parties that now try to portray Itamar and I as extremists had been in power in '48, they wouldn't have declared the establishment of the State," Fogel replied. "They lack the courage of conviction and don't really believe in Israel as a Jewish state. I am a Jew and I want to realize this vision, and that's why I've made the decision to enter politics. There's a price to pay for such a decision, of course, but if that's the price to pay to ensure that my children and grandchildren will live in a Jewish state, a democratic and Zionist state, then I'm willing to pay it."
On the question of coalition discipline and political wheeling-and-dealing and how this can be reconciled with an uncompromising agenda, Fogel said that, "If it does not contradict the promise I made to my children, my wife, and my grandchildren, then whereever I'm required to compromise and fall in line with coalition discipline I will do so. That's just part and parcel of politics."