"As a member of the Likud Party, you have the privilege of deciding the fate of the lives of my family and of my home. Please give me five minutes to talk with you before you decide." So will say thousands of Gush Katif and other Yesha residents when they visit the homes of many of the 200,000 Likud Party members in the coming weeks. The goal: to educate them as to the dangers of the unilateral withdrawal so that they will vote against it in the referendum on May 2.
The Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) Council has embarked on its campaign entitled "Achim Lo Mitnatkim - Brothers Don't Separate" - a Hebrew play on the word used for "disengagement." The centerpiece of the program features home visits by Yesha volunteers to Likud members all around the country.
"It's important to talk candidly, not condescendingly, and to turn 'to their hearts' in order to persuade them," state the Yesha Council instructions. "We must emphasize the positive aspects of Gush Katif and the settlement enterprise."
The instructions assume that an approval of the withdrawal plan will lead to the formation of a left-wing secular government, with Labor replacing the National Religious Party and the National Union. The dangers of this are great, the visitors are instructed to say: "The plan as it currently stands will certainly undergo changes, and if it is approved, then the changes will largely be determined with the Labor Party at the center of the decision-making process. Fact: Operation Defensive Shield would not have been undertaken without right-wing ministers in the government. Fact: With Labor in the government, we would not have killed Sheikh Yassin. Fact: With the left-wing in the government, terrorism will once again go wild." Other sound-bites recommended for use: "The Likud says: Were against retreat without peace, and against surrender to the Hamas, and against a return to a government with the left-wing. The detachment plan will bring the left-wing back to power."
The Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) Council has embarked on its campaign entitled "Achim Lo Mitnatkim - Brothers Don't Separate" - a Hebrew play on the word used for "disengagement." The centerpiece of the program features home visits by Yesha volunteers to Likud members all around the country.
"It's important to talk candidly, not condescendingly, and to turn 'to their hearts' in order to persuade them," state the Yesha Council instructions. "We must emphasize the positive aspects of Gush Katif and the settlement enterprise."
The instructions assume that an approval of the withdrawal plan will lead to the formation of a left-wing secular government, with Labor replacing the National Religious Party and the National Union. The dangers of this are great, the visitors are instructed to say: "The plan as it currently stands will certainly undergo changes, and if it is approved, then the changes will largely be determined with the Labor Party at the center of the decision-making process. Fact: Operation Defensive Shield would not have been undertaken without right-wing ministers in the government. Fact: With Labor in the government, we would not have killed Sheikh Yassin. Fact: With the left-wing in the government, terrorism will once again go wild." Other sound-bites recommended for use: "The Likud says: Were against retreat without peace, and against surrender to the Hamas, and against a return to a government with the left-wing. The detachment plan will bring the left-wing back to power."