Oy, So Disappointing

Ever since the T'chiya Party didn't get enough votes to pass the minimum threshold to be in the Knesset, I've been without a party to vote for. Don't get me wrong. I always vote, but not with the same surety and confidence I once did.

In recent elections, I've been voting National Union, but with a very heavy heart. I just don't see them leading the country.

Now, after reading Ruthie Blum's feature interview with Rav Benny Elon, I'm even less enthusiastic about giving them my vote.

As usual, Ruthie was impressive, asking just the right questions. The problem is with Rav Benny's answers. They too similar to the Moetzet YESHA policies.

I've written extensively about the mistakes of Moetzet YESHA and how they contributed to Disengagement.

In hindsight, what would or should you as a representative of the right-wing bloc that opposed disengagement from Gaza have done differently?
Today, I can't see anything that could have prevented that madness. Sharon had a magnetic personality, and the Right was confused....

You're talking about political maneuvering within the government. But what about the public? Didn't Sharon succeed in persuading a majority of the voters that disengagement was the right path?
Yes, but during the early stages, it wasn't a done deal. We wanted Sharon either to hold elections or conduct a national referendum. The only thing he did was hold a referendum in the Likud - and he lost, but ignored the vote. If he had gone to elections, it's likely he would have won, just as he did when he formed Kadima. But at least we would have been given the sense that this was the will of the public, and therefore there was nothing more we could do.

I have no doubt that it could have been stopped, if only we had the right leadership.

At present, we don't have the leadership we need, but since it's a democracy, one can say that we have the "leaders we deserve."