Nu, NU, No!

Here we go again.

Even though Israel's National Union has a lot of religious supporters/voters, it's not a "religious party."  It's a patriotic, Jewish Nationalist political party open to Jews of various religious observance.  Many of its religious supporters, like myself, consider that its main attraction.  We're not supporters of the NRP.  Speaking for myself, during the forty years I've lived in Israel, I've never voted for a religious party.  I vote politics, not religion.

When we fist made aliyah in 1970, Menachem Begin's Herut Party still had its own internal elections.  Then it joined with the Liberals for "GaHaL."  Over the years more parties joined until it became the Likud, and then after Begin's gift of the Sinai to Sadat, I supported T'chiya.  After T'chiya got insufficient votes, I've had a tough time deciding whom to vote for.  I finally settled on on Moledet and then HaTikvah/National Union (HaIchud HaLeumi.)

A couple of elections ago, they combined with the NRP, National Religious Party in a very badly negotiated deal.  Even though most of the potential voters wanted NU, the NRP swallowed them up.  I went to a meeting of activists for the joint party.  It was in a NRP building; all the speakers were NRP spouting NRP tactics and ideology.  My friends and I looked at each other in horror.  It was like a nightmare episode of the Twilight Zone.

That partnership broke up, thank G-d.  Then the NRP changed its name, but it's still at the same place, the same people spouting the same tired and failing ideology.

Unfortunately, although the National Union may be rich with academics, intellectuals and professors, but they're not very good at real politics.  Again there's talk about joining up with the NRP.  Gevalt!  Will they ever learn?