Originally published in Besheva, edited and translated by Hillel Fendel
The splinter parties must unite into one religious-Zionist party, which will work towards the many and varied goals on which all its parts agree.
 |
| Yemina-United Right candidates (Credit: Kobi Richter/TPS) |
Practically speaking, we have still not yet gotten over the first shock of this year's political campaigns: the abrupt departure of Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked from the leadership of the Jewish Home party (Bayit Yehudi) shortly before this year's first election. Ever since then, the religious-Zionist leadership has been functioning under emergency-state conditions. The clearest expression of this is the not-wholly democratic manner in which Jewish Home Chairman Rafi Peretz was chosen to succeed Bennett. This was followed by overriding the party constitution's requirement to hold primaries to choose the Knesset candidates. Even now, a week into the new year of 5780, we still don't know whether this state of emergency will end soon, or whether we are actually headed - unbelievably - for a third election. In any event, those who care for religious-Zionism and its political standing had best not wait for this quagmire to resolve itself before planning how to handle the coming years.
Let us begin with a quick analysis of what happened. The seven Knesset mandates attained by the Yemina party in the last election is not a terrific achievement, but it is reasonable under the circumstances. Three reasons for the less-than-hoped-for outcome come to mind:
The first one is something that harms the religious-Zionist party whenever it occurs: the tight race between the Likud and its leftwing or center-left rival. When this is the case, the Likud generally succeeds in "sipping up" votes from knitted-yarmulke voters who feel that though they would like to strengthen religious-Zionism, they must first of all ensure that the Likud remains in power.
The second reason is the fact that the Jewish Strength party (Otzmah Yehudit) ran independently and did not reach the minimum threshold to enter the Knesset. Otzmah ran a campaign based on the mistaken claim that the success or failure of the entire religious-right camp was dependent on whether Otzmah reached the four-seat minimum. This proved to be wrong, for even with Otzmah's four seats, the right-wing – which no longer includes Lieberman's party – would not have reached the necessary 61-seat majority. Thus, tens of thousands of votes that could have been counted for the religious-Zionist list went swirling down the drain.
The third factor that harmed the religious-right party this past election was the negative and aggressive campaign run against it by the Noam party. As expected, Noam dropped out just two days before the election when it finally internalized that it had no chance of winning Knesset representation. But this happened only after the Noam people caused damage to Yemina by leading thousands of the knitted-kippah community to vote for a haredi party for the first time in their lives. Thus, in Bet El, Agudat Yisrael received 102 votes, after having received only 39 in the previous election a few months earlier; in the Talmon bloc, Agudat Yisrael rose from 24 votes to 92, and in Mitzpeh Ramon, home to a Yeshivat Har HaMor offshoot yeshiva, the count was 122, up from 29. It is quite clear that the Noam party line succeeded in convincing many not to vote for a religious party co-headed by "Reform" Bennett and non-religious Shaked.
Is there room for a new religious party that encompasses all its very different parts? The election campaign that just ended might appear to indicate that the answer is no, given the discord that was revealed over the past weeks. However, we believe that this need not be the case.
The electoral strength of the religious-Zionist camp outside the Likud is divided among the following tiny groupings: Bayit Yehudi headed by Rabbi Rafi Peretz; the National Union headed by Betzalel Smotrich; Otzmah Yehudit, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir; those who supported Noam, or Moshe Feiglin's Zehut; and the Bennett-Shaked duo, which itself, after years of perfect teamwork, is no longer totally of one mind. Despite this, however, religious-Zionism as a dynamic sector and an idealistic movement is alive and kicking. Its values and mutual interests demand political strength and representation.
It is nearly impossible to reclaim in the near future all those religious-Zionists who have found political homes in larger parties, from Yesh Atid to the Likud. But a hard core of 5-7 Knesset seats can certainly be counted on that will guarantee an active, influential and meaningful religious-Zionist party – one that can strive to leave its imprint on every topic of interest in public life. Orbiting this hard core are another few tens of thousands, or more, of voters who identify with many of these interests and can occasionally be counted on to add another several Knesset seats. It's possible that under a set of fortuitous circumstances, the party could reach 10-12 seats, as it held in the past. But in truth, the number of seats does not tell the entire story; remember that Bennett and Shaked left more of a public imprint on Israeli life in the 20th Knesset, when they had 8 seats, than in the 19th Knesset, when their party had 12 seats.
Where would this new united religious-Zionist party stand politically? Certainly it must stand to the right of the Likud, in light of the preferences of the clear majority of those who identify with religious-Zionism. This is also the proper stance for a public whose feelings about the Land of Israel are derived from the Torah's commandments, outlook and goals, and from which sprouted the Gush Emunim movement and the entire settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha). The party will push for the strengthening of the Yesha communities and for the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. It will be an outspoken voice opposing any intention to destroy or remove Jewish communities or outposts there, will demand a genuinely forceful stance in our war on Palestinian terrorism, and will object to any deals involving the release of terrorists.
At the same time, it will also be a party that will be concerned for the Jewish character of the State of Israel, and will work to strengthen and improve the Chief Rabbinate and the Rabbinical Court system. It will stand firmly for the values of the Sabbath and family, and will not accept expanding influence of Reform values, such as at the Western Wall.
The party will stand at the forefront of the struggle against the progressive subversive activity of the New Israel Fund and similar bodies in various societal and governmental frameworks in Israel. It will fight for the right of the Jewish-national voice to be heard in the media, the legal system, academia, and the arts. It will struggle against the creeping takeover of the judicial and clerical establishments, and will ensure that the center of power remains with those who were democratically elected for that purpose – namely, the Knesset and the government. It will seek the welfare of Israel's citizens in every area it can: transportation, health, economics, and social services. And it will focus specifically, without apologizing, on the religious-Zionist sector and its glorious enterprises: the public-religious school system, the Zionist Talmudei Torah, the yeshivot, the midrashot and ulpanot, large families, National Service, and the rights of religious soldiers in the IDF. All this and much more are part of the mission that justifies – nay, demands – the continued existence of a national-religious Zionist party.
Who can be expected not to join this party? Certainly those who do not wish to be identified with this sector, or with any sectarian party. This will not be a party that will strive for national leadership in the foreseeable future, for it still represents but a minority within Israeli society. Those who consider themselves religious-Zionists but feel that they are destined for greatness, and maybe even the Prime Minister's seat, will be asked to join the Likud - or at least not to rock the sector's political structure because of their unrealistic ambitions. This must be so even if because of unfortunate, widely-known personal circumstances, they are unable to find their place at present in Israel's leading nationalist party.
Another group who should not find their place in the new party comprises those who demand the exclusion of specific others in the national-religious camp. No one has veto rights over any other sector; everyone is invited to test his or her own strength by bringing supporters and competing democratically.
The leader of the party must be chosen in a democratic fashion, via whatever system is decided upon. We can no longer continue with splinter parties-within-a-party, as is the situation now, where Yemina actually comprises Bayit Yehudi and the National Union-Tekuma alliance, with Otzmah Yehudit, Zehut, and possibly Noam waiting on the sidelines to jump in. All of these worthy factions are sincerely invited to choose their leadership candidate and run for a top spot. If they do not win, let them accept the voters' decision; and if they choose not to run at all, let them not run independently in the national elections, where the minimum threshold will fell them yet again.
A principled decision must be made regarding the participation in the religious-Zionist party of those who term themselves "not religious." In my opinion, there is room in such a party for whoever identifies with the values of Religious-Zionism. However, if they wish to vie for party leadership positions, they will have to accept upon themselves certain norms of "honor for religion," such as not desecrating the Sabbath in public. In any event, the head of Israel's religious-Zionist party must be someone who can serve as a model for the public, young and old, and must be a believing Jew who is wholly obligated to observing the Torah and its commandments.
May the new united religious party be soon formed, stand firmly on its feet, and go from strength to strength to serve those who believe in its values and the entire State of Israel!