At this point, what should the role of the Ichud Le'umi, the National Union, be in Israeli politics, in the Israeli Government in Israeli life?
Caroline Glick admits that their policies are consistently correct:
Caroline Glick admits that their policies are consistently correct:
THE ONE POLITICIAN who has been outspoken in opposing the mass release of terrorists has been MK Ya'acov (Ketzeleh) Katz, the leader of the National Union party. Together with the families of terror victims who oppose the government's intention to release their relatives' murderers, Katz has been the loudest voice in politics stridently opposing the deal. He has made clear that it will endanger the country and guarantee the murder and abduction of still more Israelis.
Katz and the National Union have it right on this issue. Indeed, they have it right on just about every major strategic issue they have championed. From their opposition to the failed Oslo process to their opposition to the failed Camp David summit, from their opposition to the withdrawal from south Lebanon and Gaza to their opposition to the failed road map peace process and the failed Annapolis peace process, the National Union has been right all along. It has always stayed true to its principles.
But as right as they are, she claims that to be wrong.
FOR ALL of its strategic wisdom and clearheadedness, the National Union is a political home for delusional politicians. In all of its various incarnations - from Tehiya to Herut to Moledet to the National Union - the party has never been able to understand what it means to govern. It has never been able to recognize that politics is the art of compromise.
But why should the only honest, clear-thinking party back down and conform to the Israeli PC delusions? Don't blame the National Union and its predecessors, Techiya and Moledet, for Israel's problems. Just like Pinocchio endangered himself and Gepetto by not listening to Jiminy Cricket, Israeli politicians who followed American orders, rather than do what was best for Israel, must admit their fundamental mistakes.
In 1992, angry that Likud under prime minister Yitzhak Shamir bowed to US pressure and participated in the Madrid peace conference, Tehiya brought down his government. In so doing, it brought in Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres and brought the country the Oslo process and Yasser Arafat in Ramallah.
In 1999, angry at Netanyahu for bowing to US pressure and agreeing to the Wye Plantation accords, the National Union brought down his government. In so doing, it brought in Ehud Barak and Yossi Beilin, the withdrawal from Lebanon and the Camp David summit.
The Likud's tragic weakness has always been its desire to show that it's not an "extremist Right wing party."
That's why Menachem Begin defied his voters and supporters when taking office, in 1977, and gave the post-Yom Kippur War failed Moshe Dayan the authority to decide policy.
That's why Yitzchak Shamir agreed to go to the Madrid Conference and didn't pack and leave with a parting: "אין עם מי לדבר Ain im mi l'daber. There's nobody to speak to." After Arab terrorists shot at a bus full of innocent Israeli women and children on their way to a demonstration. The terrorists murdered two, my good friend and neighbor, Rachella Druk, mother of seven and the bus driver, Yitzchak Rofeh. A number of children were also injured. Shamir should have used this as an example of why it's impossible to negotiate with murdering terrorists.
That's also one of the reasons for Ariel Sharon's Disengagement policy which, besides destroying Jewish homes, towns, businesses etc and turning peaceful, innocent Israelis into homeless evictees, it brought Arab terrorist missiles closer to Israeli civilians.
Glick shouldn't blame Techiya. Shamir should have left the conference and apologized to Techiya and the Israeli People for his "momentary" weakness. Techiya would have then rejoined the government, and then we never would have had to cope with the increased terrorism caused by the Peres-Rabin Oslo Accords which gave even more advanced weapons to the Arab terrorists and facilitated the horrendous situation we're in now.
As a Techiya, Moledet and now National Union voter and supporter, I expect my party to be the conscience of the nation. Somebody has to be. Glick sure isn't. I don't want my MK's haggling over ministry perks like the NRP.
It took a while for Pinocchio to get it Right, and I hope we won't need to get swallowed by a whale first.
When you get in trouble and you don't know right from wrong
Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!
When you meet temptation and the urge is very strong
Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!
Not just a little squeak, pucker up and blow
And if your whistle's weak, yell, "Jiminy Cricket!"
Right!
Take the straight and narrow path
And if you start to slide
Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!
And always let your conscience be your guide
15 comments:
what glick is saying is that NU is made up of ideologues, not politicians. there is a vast difference. this is why NU will be largely ineffective in knesset. you can choose to vote ideology, or vote to get things done. just because you are right doesnt mean you can move things along in the right direction.
the ideology-practicality dilemma is not new for the israeli voter.
Yes, I understand that, and I still disagree with her. The Israeli political system is geared to a certain amount of ideologues in the Knesset. Actually the guy leading Meretz said it well from the Left.
If being a politican means that your job is to compromise, you need a strong ideologue to make sure you don't bend too far. That's the job of the NU. If it can be done from the coalition, fine, if not, I have no problem with it being outside of temptation.
"Politics is the art of compromise" is a fallacy. There are some things that cannot and must not be compromised.
Perhaps this Talkback (to Caroline Glick's piece) has it right:
Talkback #27. Caroline Glick's Blind Spot
Caroline Glick is lucid insightful and evidence based in most of her writing. When it comes to Binyamin Netanyahu however she goes Ga-Ga She ignores his previous attempts to betray his own power base, his peridy and lies when he was negotiating the Golan,surrended Hevron , crumbled at Annapoli , equvocated at developing Har Homa, and manipulated and betrayed his own part primaries in the best Sharon tradition. And this person who is still trying to inveigle the opposition parties to be his allies so that he will not have to take into account his own core constituany Caroline Glick wants
Mottel Greenbaum - Australia (03/17/2009 14:38)
Comment #1 (Anonymous), Torah is not an ideology. Retaining possession of our land is not ideology. It is our covenant. You can do what is right if you've got enough support in the Knesset. The reason there is not enough support in the Knesset to do what is right is not the fault of NU or any party committed to doing what is right. It is the fault of the voting public who consistently vote for parties that refuse to do what is right or worse, do what is morally repugnant; even traitorous.
I wrote about the whole release mess as well--and I stand by the opinion, no actually, FACT that releasing terrorists is a huge mistake.
The government's strategy is to release Barghouti to "offset" the Hamas releasals, but it's another doomed strategy.
Both Hamas and Fatah/PLO are terrorist organizations who want to wipe the Jewish state off of the map, and until the powers that be accept that fact, every other policy will fail.
Destroy Hamas, PLO, Fatah, PFLP, Islamic Jihad, and every other terrorist group--and then let's sit down and discuss the prospects of peace.
Batya, I agree with you 100%. This is an ideological war against the return of the People of Israel to its Land. The more we compromised, the more our standing in the world deteriorated - it is not a coincidence that after the expulsion from Gush Katif, anti-Semitism went sharply up in the world. In contrast, our standing in the world was at its height after the 6-day war, despite the shrieks of the (then) marginals from the extreme left. As Winston Churchill told Chamberlain some 70 years ago. "You had to choose between dishonour and war...you chose dishonour, you got war".
a, are you all the same or different? well, any way, a's I agree.
comrade, very true
Yoni, great example, thanks!
A comment from the peanut gallery in the US:)
If idealists were ineffective the United States would not currently exist. Was it perfect in implementing its values and ideals in 1776? No.
But it set the foundation.
Same with Israel. Not perfect but its founders had ideals, values; they knew where they stood and where they wanted to go, so beautifully conveyed in your national anthem.
It's been a nation built on the Torah and Zionism. What party currently has those values? The more and more I read about Netanyahu the more he seems like someone who licks his finger, holds it up and tries to decide which way the wind the is blowing.
That's the direction he'll go in.
With political advisors why can't the NU be successful?
I agree with you 100-percent, Batya.
Keli, thanks for the additional points. You're so right in that it takes an idealist to create something great.
The problem is that the Likud never offers a right-wing solution, just the status quo or a leftwing solution. The problem isn't with the NU sicking to its ideology, but with the Likud constantly betraying theirs.
Furthermore, the "Right" as a whole did extremely well, as the public wants a RW ideological solution implemented - and that is exactly why the Likud lost seats to the right.
The right can govern, but some in it don't want to.
See more in depth on JoeSettler.
Joe, you're right. The public wants a right wing government, but the politicians listen to the media.
The big question is, what will it take to get the public to take a position which we see as being pretty much the only one compatible with the facts on the ground? It takes an evolutionary process of a lot of kids being born and reaching adulthood while the older electorate moves on. We all know that the population is going to be more religious and more right-wing. Moshe Feiglin points out that it will probably take a good 20 years. That means that it will require today's babies to reach voting age. When the sea-change happens, and it will, I have no problems about who leads it. It can be the Likud, the Ichud Leuma, or an Avodat Hashem faction of baalei teshuva in the Labor party. Whatever it is can be led by people we know or people we have never heard of. Just let it happen. Meanwhile I keep voting in the primaries for Manhigut Yehudit.
goyish, we can't just wait and vote for Feiglin. Feiglin has done nothing to win over the Likud. He totally goofed in his tactics, and he ruined things for others.
There are some good people in Likud, even among the MK's, and they don't work with Feiglin for good reason.
The media is the key now. Unfortunately, Israel Media Watch has totally failed in its aim of creating a more objective and professional media here.
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