Despite the clear majority of the right-wing -- unprecedented in the
history of the State of Israel -- Sharon's government commenced on March 3, 2003 with distinct left-wing policies. Here are several example paragraphs from the guidelines of Sharon government:
Paragraph 2.3. Honoring "previous political agreements approved by the Knesset" (Oslo Agreement and everything that derived from it).
Paragraph 2.6. Discussion on "founding a Palestinian state".
Paragraph 2.11. Freezing settlements. "During the government's tenure, new settlements will not be founded."
Paragraph 12.1 The state of Israel as a state of all its citizens: "The government will ensure full equal rights for all Israel's citizens."
Mafdal and the National Union party leaders adopted these guidelines
and signed these documents. They joined Sharon's government together with vehemently anti-religious Shinui, and abandoned the other religious parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism.
The Sharon government guidelines betrayed the very principles promised to the voters in the Likud party platform and bylaws that included the following statements:
"A settlement is a distinct _expression of the unalienable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, and is an important asset to
defend the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will act to continue strengthening and developing them."
"...safeguarding the Jewish people's rights to the Land of Israel as an unalienable eternal right, continual settlement and development of all parts of the Land of Israel and conferring political sovereignty over them."
During the reign of the Sharon government, one catastrophe followed
another. Hundreds of people were murdered in terror attacks, settlement outposts were violently destroyed while illegal Arab buildings were allowed to flourish, budgets for religious institutions were drastically cut back, the Religions Ministry was disbanded, and the only national religious radio station, Arutz-7, was closed down. But worse of all, the Evacuation-Restitution Law for the expulsion of all the Jews of Gush Katif and Northern Shomron was approved by the Knesset!
After each catastrophe, the members of the national camp parties
remained silent or parroted the worn-out claim that "we are influencing the government from within". But their influence was nil. They failed to dissociate themselves from the catastrophes of the Sharon government; they reinforced the Supreme Court despite its anti-religious rulings. They provided legitimacy to the monopoly of the extremely left hostile media.
They did nothing to prevent deterioration of the Jewish education in
the state system. And they allowed immigration of gentiles into Israel under lax immigration rules that are used to flood Israel with gentiles with the declared policy of the left to "counter-balance" the natural growth of the religious population.
To add insult to injury, MK Michael Nudelman of the National Union quit the party and joined the extreme left wing. Head of the party. MK Avigdor Lieberman quit to establish another party that calls for dividing up the Land of Israel with the Palestinian Authority.
The Sharon government is now ending its term in coalition with the
Labor party, having performed the major campaign promise of this
anti-Jewish party to dismantle the Jewish communities in the Gaza strip. How is such a complete reversal of policy possible, subduing a right-wing majority to the rule and will of a party that received less than 16% of the seats in the Knesset?
How could an elected Israeli party in the twenty-first century act so
clearly in the spirit of the rival party which had lost the elections--in absolute opposition to the will of its voters? How could Sharon so cavalierly ignore the principles for which he was elected-- without his government falling?
Defective Government System
Despite all the ink poured noting that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle-East, the Israeli government system is far removed from the ideals of a democratic regime. In Israel there is no separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches. The cabinet, as the executive power, is composed of MKs of the party coalition, and they continue to serve in both the Knesset and the cabinet. The Knesset does not constitute an independent branch to check and balance the executive branch and its policies.
Every American voter takes for granted his right to elect his own
regional representative for the Congress and the Senate. This right, as documented by Professor Paul Eidelberg, has never existed in Israel! Every voter can only vote for a party list that is arranged by a small group of party cronies or party activists.
Once the criminal corruption of Sharon and his family surfaced, Sharon took advantage of all the weaknesses of the Israeli system of
government to protect himself and his family, and sacrificed the people and the Land of Israel. He bribed MKs by appointing them to influential positions, and most Likud MKs started voting in support of the rival Labor party policies rather than the platform of their own party.
The present system of party activists choosing MKs creates a situation where being an MK has become a long-term job. The dependence between the party cronies and MKs are mutual. Many of the party cronies' jobs or interests depend on their ties to MKs. So, irrespective of what the MK does or doesn't accomplish, even if they are abject failures, the system continues to elect them to guarantee perks for party cronies. This corrupt system creates a situation in which there is no competition, no new generation of leaders, and no democratic system of decisions. Thus, Sharon could ignore the results of the Likud referendum with impunity, and MKs did not seek the approval of the voters.
If there were direct regional elections in Israel, would Peres or
Sharon with all their history have kept getting elected until the age of 80?
The existing parliamentary electoral system perpetuates political
dinosaurs that never have to prove their loyalty or their abilities to the people or are required to pay for their failures. They continue to warm their comfortable Knesset seats.
The heads of the Mafdal and the National Union are already fighting
among themselves for the order in which they will appear in Knesset
elections ballot. They are not even ashamed about their dismal failure in the Sharon government.
I call out to the heads of the Mafdal and the National Union parties to resign from their positions for the coming elections! They have
miserably failed with their policy of "influencing from the inside". They should leave the leadership for fresher, more assertive and uncompromising leaders who will battle to preserve the values of "the Jewish people keeping the Torah of Israel in the Land of Israel".
Leaders of the National Camp -- you failed. Give up your seats!
__________________________
Dr. Israel Hanukoglu is a graduate of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison (Ph.D. 1980). As Chairman of the Association of Professors for a
Strong Israel, he emerged as one of the leaders of the opposition to the
Oslo Agreement. During 1996-1999 he served as Science and Technology
Adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and resigned from his
position after the signing of the Wye Agreement. His undergraduate degree (cum
laude) is from the Hebrew University in Psychology and Biology with a
minor in political science. After the Oslo Agreement, he transferred his
lab from the Weizmann Institute of Science to the College of Judea and
Samaria where he established the first molecular biology B.Sc. degree
program. For further details see his web site at:
http://www.science.co.il/hi/
A Call to Rejuvenate the Political Leadership of the Nationalist Camp
The Foundation for Constitutional Democracy is proud to present an English rendering of this seminal article of Professor Israel Hanukoglu
by Prof. Israel Hanukoglu
As the destruction of the Gush Katif proceeded, some politicians of the national camp admitted that they had failed in their policies. MK Effi Eitam stated that "we erred by joining with Shinui." Likud MK Uzi Landau simply admitted that "We failed."
But this is not enough. We should not forgive not only the Likud
politicians, but also the politicians of the religious national camp who supported Sharon's government from its inception. They also bear grave responsibility for the destruction of Gush Katif and Northern Samaria.
These politicians tried to do their best, but they unequivocally failed. They have to clear the way for a new leadership that can prevent such destruction in the future.
The 2003 elections was a resounding success for the National camp which had 69 representatives elected (from the Likud, Shas, National Union, Mafdal, United Torah Judaism, and Israel B'Aliya parties) opposite 51 representatives of the left and the Arabs.
Despite the clear majority of the right-wing -- unprecedented in the
history of the State of Israel -- Sharon's government commenced on March 3, 2003 with distinct left-wing policies. Here are several example paragraphs from the guidelines of Sharon government:
Mafdal and the National Union party leaders adopted these guidelines
and signed these documents. They joined Sharon's government together with vehemently anti-religious Shinui, and abandoned the other religious parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism.
The Sharon government guidelines betrayed the very principles promised to the voters in the Likud party platform and bylaws that included the following statements:
"A settlement is a distinct _expression of the unalienable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, and is an important asset to
defend the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will act to continue strengthening and developing them."
"...safeguarding the Jewish people's rights to the Land of Israel as an unalienable eternal right, continual settlement and development of all parts of the Land of Israel and conferring political sovereignty over them."
During the reign of the Sharon government, one catastrophe followed
another. Hundreds of people were murdered in terror attacks, settlement outposts were violently destroyed while illegal Arab buildings were allowed to flourish, budgets for religious institutions were drastically cut back, the Religions Ministry was disbanded, and the only national religious radio station, Arutz-7, was closed down. But worse of all, the Evacuation-Restitution Law for the expulsion of all the Jews of Gush Katif and Northern Shomron was approved by the Knesset!
After each catastrophe, the members of the national camp parties
remained silent or parroted the worn-out claim that "we are influencing the government from within". But their influence was nil. They failed to dissociate themselves from the catastrophes of the Sharon government; they reinforced the Supreme Court despite its anti-religious rulings. They provided legitimacy to the monopoly of the extremely left hostile media.
They did nothing to prevent deterioration of the Jewish education in
the state system. And they allowed immigration of gentiles into Israel under lax immigration rules that are used to flood Israel with gentiles with the declared policy of the left to "counter-balance" the natural growth of the religious population.
To add insult to injury, MK Michael Nudelman of the National Union quit the party and joined the extreme left wing. Head of the party. MK Avigdor Lieberman quit to establish another party that calls for dividing up the Land of Israel with the Palestinian Authority.
The Sharon government is now ending its term in coalition with the
Labor party, having performed the major campaign promise of this
anti-Jewish party to dismantle the Jewish communities in the Gaza strip. How is such a complete reversal of policy possible, subduing a right-wing majority to the rule and will of a party that received less than 16% of the seats in the Knesset?
How could an elected Israeli party in the twenty-first century act so
clearly in the spirit of the rival party which had lost the elections--in absolute opposition to the will of its voters? How could Sharon so cavalierly ignore the principles for which he was elected-- without his government falling?
Defective Government System
Despite all the ink poured noting that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle-East, the Israeli government system is far removed from the ideals of a democratic regime. In Israel there is no separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches. The cabinet, as the executive power, is composed of MKs of the party coalition, and they continue to serve in both the Knesset and the cabinet. The Knesset does not constitute an independent branch to check and balance the executive branch and its policies.
Every American voter takes for granted his right to elect his own
regional representative for the Congress and the Senate. This right, as documented by Professor Paul Eidelberg, has never existed in Israel! Every voter can only vote for a party list that is arranged by a small group of party cronies or party activists.
Once the criminal corruption of Sharon and his family surfaced, Sharon took advantage of all the weaknesses of the Israeli system of
government to protect himself and his family, and sacrificed the people and the Land of Israel. He bribed MKs by appointing them to influential positions, and most Likud MKs started voting in support of the rival Labor party policies rather than the platform of their own party.
The present system of party activists choosing MKs creates a situation where being an MK has become a long-term job. The dependence between the party cronies and MKs are mutual. Many of the party cronies' jobs or interests depend on their ties to MKs. So, irrespective of what the MK does or doesn't accomplish, even if they are abject failures, the system continues to elect them to guarantee perks for party cronies. This corrupt system creates a situation in which there is no competition, no new generation of leaders, and no democratic system of decisions. Thus, Sharon could ignore the results of the Likud referendum with impunity, and MKs did not seek the approval of the voters.
If there were direct regional elections in Israel, would Peres or
Sharon with all their history have kept getting elected until the age of 80?
The existing parliamentary electoral system perpetuates political
dinosaurs that never have to prove their loyalty or their abilities to the people or are required to pay for their failures. They continue to warm their comfortable Knesset seats.
The heads of the Mafdal and the National Union are already fighting
among themselves for the order in which they will appear in Knesset
elections ballot. They are not even ashamed about their dismal failure in the Sharon government.
I call out to the heads of the Mafdal and the National Union parties to resign from their positions for the coming elections! They have
miserably failed with their policy of "influencing from the inside". They should leave the leadership for fresher, more assertive and uncompromising leaders who will battle to preserve the values of "the Jewish people keeping the Torah of Israel in the Land of Israel".
Leaders of the National Camp -- you failed. Give up your seats!
__________________________
Dr. Israel Hanukoglu is a graduate of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison (Ph.D. 1980). As Chairman of the Association of Professors for a
Strong Israel, he emerged as one of the leaders of the opposition to the
Oslo Agreement. During 1996-1999 he served as Science and Technology
Adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and resigned from his
position after the signing of the Wye Agreement. His undergraduate degree (cum
laude) is from the Hebrew University in Psychology and Biology with a
minor in political science. After the Oslo Agreement, he transferred his
lab from the Weizmann Institute of Science to the College of Judea and
Samaria where he established the first molecular biology B.Sc. degree
program. For further details see his web site at:
http://www.science.co.il/hi/
Posted by Ted Belman at September 4, 2005 02:52 PM