Uri Bank, who is currently in the ninth spot on the National Union list of Knesset candidates, believes that those who made Aliyah (immigrated) to Israel from Western countries have much to offer the Israeli political system, with regard to accountability and creative solutions.
Bank, who heads the Moledet Party's efforts to get English-speaking olim (immigrants) to join the party, did not make it into the 16th Knesset. His party won just seven seats and he was number ten on the list. Bank's supporters are circulating a petition to have him moved to the seventh slot on the list ahead of the upcoming elections – to ensure that the enthusiastic and vocal "Anglo" activists who have joined the National Union are represented.
One of the things Bank says matters most to his constituency is that politicians be held accountable to those who elected them. "Basically there is no accountability here," Bank told IsraelNationalRadio's Stutz & Fleisher Show. "And Anglos, coming from true western democracies throughout the world, are astounded by it."
Bank cites Ariel Sharon's implementation of his election-opponents platform as the most blatant example, but says that the lack of accountability did not start with the Disengagement Plan. "It became particularly evident in the past 10-15 years - starting with the MKs who sold their souls and totally betrayed their platforms in return for a Mitzubishi [the car that goes with being a Minister, awarded to at least one MK in return for voting in favor of the Oslo Accords in the Knesset]."
However, Bank does not see the purging of Likud’s Sharon supporters from the party as a positive sign. "It will have an adverse effect on the ideological camp in Israel," he said, explaining:
"The Likud voters who voted for Sharon last time around and were totally disappointed by his betrayal were thinking of leaving the Likud and voting for true right-wing ideological parties such as the National Union. Now that Sharon has left, I am afraid that Netanyahu is going to take control of that party - and Netanyahu is a total ‘false prophet,’ if you will. He is totally not what he makes himself out to be, and unfortunately in Israel the public has a very short memory. We know that he was the biggest, most vocal opponent of Oslo until 1996, when he was elected and implemented it. When the Palestinians shot at us during the riots against the Kotel Tunnels – Netanyahu, the great Oslo opponent, ran to Washington and shook Arafat's hand."
At the same time, Bank does not rule out the National Union joining together with the Likud to form a united right-wing bloc in the Knesset. The National Union has been trying to join up with the National Religious Party for weeks.
"I have no problem joining up with the Likud," Bank said. "But the problem is that the Likud has never had a solution. When they responded to Oslo and said that what Labor and Meretz are suggesting is horrendous – that is not a solution. When you ask any of them, even Uzi Landau, what the solution is – they raise their eyebrows and say, 'We don't really know.' And that is why Netanyahu and Sharon and even Uzi Landau - if he came into power - would start implementing something in the line of Oslo – maybe not the same as the left would, but the same direction."
The National Union, on the other hand, does have an alternative solution to that of withdrawals and adding another Arab state to the Middle East, Bank insists:
"The alternative that the National Union presents originated in Moledet and was adopted by all seven MKs of the National Union in the last election. It is the 'Jordan is Palestine' solution. This recognizes the fact that there already is a Palestinian state east of the Jordan river – the Hashemite Kingdom. Jordan's population is 75-80% Palestinian, and therefore a Palestinian state already exists. But only if we realize the mistakes that have been made over the past 15 years – the basic tenet of ‘land for peace’ and [the mistakes of] supplying the Palestinians with guns and sovereignty over land to the west of the Jordan River – will we switch our way of thinking about the solution."
The Moledet plan, termed the "Right Road to Peace," consists of dismantling and disarming the Palestinian Authority and persuading the international community (Bank says it need only be the U.S.) to resettle the Arab refugees in Jordan using American economic aid as leverage. The complete plan can be read on TheRightRoadToPeace.com.
"Once the Likud changes and finds a solution," Bank says, "- and it doesn't have to be the solution that I am advocating - then I would consider teaming up with them. But the Likud has absolutely no alternative – and it’s not only Netanyahu, it's Landau as well, and it's Feiglin as well. There is no alternative there."
It is not by chance that Bank dropped Moshe Feiglin's name as being part of the problem. Anglo Moledet has gone on the offensive in recent months, attacking Manhigut Yehudit's efforts to take over the Likud from within, on English-language email discussion lists and in public forums. Despite the fact that nearly all Manhigut Yehudit activists, many of them English-speaking olim, vote for the National Union, the Moledet activists feel that the efforts that go into trying to affect individual internal Likud votes could be better spent campaigning for the National Union.
There is also an element of defensiveness, as Moshe Feiglin has consistently been dismissive of the right-wing religious parties, saying they aim only to be "lobbies" and not to lead the country.
Bank is also dismissive of small parties, and that is why he says the National Union is putting so much effort into uniting the right-wing. Regarding Baruch Marzel's new Hayil party, Bank said:
"We are repeating the same mistakes again and again. We have to get politically savvy. And that is what Marzel, with all the good things he has done for the Nation and Land of Israel, doesn't have. He doesn't understand that splintering off – as wonderful of an individual as he is - means losing power for all of us, which means losing part of the land, which I am sure he is against. And it is especially egotistical on his part to consider running again, especially when he did it once and failed. All through the previous election we said that they are going to throw out two seats – and that is exactly what happened. The National Union would have had nine seats instead of seven during this term if [Marzel] hadn't run last time. To try to do it again just proves selfishness at this point. If we want the national camp to gain ground at this point – we need unity, unity, unity."
Bank truly believes that a right-wing bloc can garner more seats in the Knesset than the Likud Party – though he is hesitant to suggest that even then the National Union would lead the country. "Today we already make up 29 reigning members of Knesset. The Likud has 40. If the Likud bloc falls to 34 and we rise by [those] 6 to 35, then we will truly have the power. [Then we can] either suggest a prime minister of our own – and maybe for the first time we [will be able to put up a religious] prime minister in this country, and Benny Elon fits that bill. Or – if not that – [we can] come to whomever the Likud leader is and tell him, 'you want to be prime minister – you have to fork over the portfolio of Education Minister to Zevulun Orlev, the Justice portfolio to Benny Elon and you have to write in the guidelines of your government – which we will join – that there will be no more capitulation to the Palestinians and no more land or guns given to them.' "
Bank was asked by host Yishai Fleisher why Zevulun Orlev as Education Minister would make any more of a difference than the NRP's Zevulun Hammer, who was Education Minister for years.
"That was only under the NRP," Bank answered. "I am not talking about small partisan politics anymore. I am talking about a large bloc that will cooperate with each other…Our conclusion from the Disengagement was that the only way to prevent further disengagements is to garner a political force. If the politicians and Hareidim (the Agudat Israel, Shas, and Torah Judaism parties) don't understand that, we are going to lose a lot of ground in this country - fast.
"[National Union and Moledet Chairman Rabbi] Benny Elon has been putting all his efforts into unifying the right-wing camp. He has been talking to Eli Yishai of Shas, talking to the heads of [the Hareidi-religious] Agudah and talking specifically and especially about finally getting the NRP to join because we have been courting them ever since 1999. They have refused to join forces and really lead the National Union at various stages since then. Once we get this united bloc, we will become a true threat – a true power in Israeli politics."