"Three and a half months ago, Amir Peretz had only 4% in the polls. Today he is the head of one of the two leading parties in Israel," Feiglin told Israel National Radio's Eli Stutz & Yishai Fleisher "We have to understand that what the polls show today has no connection to what is going to be three or four months from now."
Feiglin says that the members of his Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) faction are not the only ones taking note of the meaning of Peretz's victory. "Sharon came out publicly [Sunday] and said that what Peretz did in Labor is what Feiglin is trying to do in Likud. I think he is right…He is afraid it will happen in the Likud."
Though Feiglin is not sure he will win the coming Likud primaries – his candidacy is not even mentioned on most news reports on the matter – the Manhigut Yehudit faction leader is certain that Likud members will vote for him when they undergo the same realization that drove Laborites to vote against their old guard.
"What Manhigut and my candidacy represent is a real revolution," Feiglin said. "What Sharon represents is a continuation of Oslo, what Netanyahu represents is the continuation of Oslo. Even Uzi Landau – do you see him saying one word against the establishment, against the Supreme Court, against those who are really ruling the country? Even Uzi Landau is only saying that he will be able to get a better price for the Land of Israel – that is what he is saying and he is an honest man. So they are all representing the old secular Zionism direction – each one with his own character; Uzi Landau with his good character – but with the same direction. Manhigut Yehudit represents a revolution, a new direction."
Responding to growing calls for a united right-wing election bloc, Feiglin blessed the effort but insisted that it is a waste of time if not accompanied by efforts within the Likud Party. "Let's assume they all get another ten seats – what will be the difference? What will they achieve through that? What we really saw in the last three years was that the right-wing parties and the NRP are completely irrelevant. Sharon, with the Likud, can go with Shinui, or he can go with Labor, and can do whatever he wants. The real battle is in the Likud."
As proof of his claim, Feiglin says one must compare the effectiveness of the political struggles waged by the various parties prior to the Disengagement. "Which political force was the most effective at giving Sharon a hard time with implementing the Disengagement. Was it the NRP? The National Union? Or was it Manhigut Yehudit – which is not even in the Knesset. Who created the Likud referendum? Who created the internal Likud rebellion against Sharon without even being in the Knesset and without taking a single vote away from any of the right-wing parties? It is not because we were smarter or more outspoken – it is because we were in the right place."
Feiglin sees Peretz's election as a good sign. "The truth is that everything that shakes the political system in Israel and knocks the Sharon-Peres hegemony is good. Between these two guys, there weren't parties anymore. They made deals between them that completely eliminated the whole democratic system. It didn't matter who you voted for anymore – the whole democratic idea became completely irrelevant. Have you ever seen the Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. cutting a deal following elections?"
Asked by Israel National Radio show host Eli Stutz what Peretz stands for, Feiglin was not very complimentary. "Amir Peretz stands for nothing," he said. "He will run to Rabin's grave and give them all the nice speeches. He just represents himself and sells the fact that he is Moroccan. He gets the votes of the Sephardim. In terms of ideology he represents nothing. He has brought more poverty to Israel and helped nobody. The revolution that Amir Peretz may in fact represent is the victory of a Jew over Israelis. In the battle between those who see themselves as Israelis-before-Jews and Jews-before-Israelis, Amir Peretz, within the Labor party, represents the Jews... I am willing to bet that Amir Peretz eats kosher food and that you may see candles lit somewhere in his house Friday nights. I don't know if he himself is aware of what I am saying right now, but this is exactly the point that Manhigut Yehudit is aiming for. If we are able to get the Jewish vote in the Likud party, we will win."
Fellow Manhigut Yehudit founder Moti Karpel also weighed in with an optimistic view of the Peretz victory, as well as a critique of those who still refuse to join the Likud to implement the faction’s planned takeover.
"Moshe Feiglin has been advocating it for five years, and newly elected Labor party chairman Amir Peretz did it in eleven months," Karpel wrote on Monday. "Peretz applied Manhigut Yehudit's strategy…He simply brought 20,000 supporters from the party he previously headed (One Nation), registered them as Labor members and sent them to vote in the Labor primaries. With 20,000 votes already in his pocket, Peretz garnished another 7,000 from other Labor party members, many of whom identify with his Labor-like policies, and triumphed."
Karpel went on to claim that many of Peretz's supporters have no affection for past Labor policies or its platform, acting only with the end-goal in mind of victory and improved salaries and working conditions. "If they had a problem with some of Labor's policies, they didn't let it bother them. They understood the simple reality. With their man at the helm, they will be in the perfect position to reform Labor's policies to suit their own interests."
Karpel, the author of many of the Manhigut factions strategy papers, concluded by lamenting the perfectionism he attributes to the national-religious public. "Feiglin's constituency is the belief-based public - people who want to see a Jewish state in the complete Land of Israel. And here is where the going gets tough. These are people who are looking for perfection - in the Land of Israel, in their Jewish faith and in all that they do. The Likud is far from perfect, and they don't want anything to do with it, even if they know that by joining, they could easily take over the Likud - many of whose members whole-heartedly support their ideas - and set their own agenda."
Karpel emphasized that the belief-based public is certainly willing to sacrifice for the Land of Israel, but remains hesitant to hold the card of a party that signifies corruption and the destruction of Jewish communities. "They are more than ready to do whatever it takes. They will encircle the fences of Kfar Maimon for days and nights if that is what needs to be done. For the sake of the Land of Israel, they will be willing to once again follow the Yesha Council on treks throughout the fields of the Negev. They will blow the shofar, shatter Heaven's gates with their prayers, fight, block roads, refuse orders, get arrested, love and hug their destroyers. But they won't do [the equivalent of] what Peretz's people did - sign up for the Likud."
Feiglin, responding to a caller who asked him how he could join such a traif (unkosher, unfit) party, said: "People would rather look for reasons for the expulsion under the rug instead of getting into the ballgame. This is where the decisions are made. Some would rather go to another rally, and another rally, and put on an orange ribbon and see other people who think just like them, rather than getting involved and making a real difference."
Click here to listen to the complete interview on Israel National Radio