After the Primary: It's Only the Beginning. . .
I was depressed. But I shouldn't be. My depression is due to a combination of factors, some personal, some national. In this post I am addressing the national: the Likud primaries, which were held yesterday in Israel. Bibi Netanyahu ("same old, same old") won.
My candidate (even though I am not eligible to vote...yet...), Moshe Feiglin, lost. Or did he? He garnered 23% of the vote, which was approximately double that of the last election. A full quarter of Likudniks are fed up with the politcal-existential situation in Israel and see Moshe Feiglin as different, as not-afriad-to-speak-the-truth-about-the-real-situation, and as a real, tangible hope for the future of Israel's survival as a Jewish State. For yet another example of his lack of fear of 'political correctness,' just read this article he wrote which I found on Arutz Sheva, about young Israeli men evading the draft. It is like spraying ice cold water with a high pressure hose on anyone who refuses to see. I am linking it here.
I was depressed. But I shouldn't be. Achieving one's goals takes time, and hard work. So we will continue to get the message out, for the next election.
I was going to post this before the Likud primary but I held off. Even though it is after the fact, I am posting it now. It is a short video in which Moshe Feiglin states what he wants for the survival of Israel, in broad terms. It is in Hebrew, but for those of you who don't understand it I have translated it below (any errors are my own.)
I was depressed, but I shouldn't be. Because it is now the first day of the new campaign. This is what I had originally written:
The Israeli Primaries are Approaching. . .and we need a major change in the Israeli government (and mindset) to improve the political and security "matzav" (situation) current in Israel today. I came across this video on Moshe Feiglin, who is running for head of the Likud party on his Manhigut Yehudit ("Jewish Leadership"- click on title link for the Manhigut Yehudit website) platform, and thought that it was worth posting, especially for people who don't know what he and Manhigut Yehudit are all about (translation below):
So you’re afraid of me?
Because I have a beard? But I don’t have “horns,”
And I don’t go around with a knife between my teeth,
And I don’t want to turn you into “dossim” (religious people).
What I do want? I want to take the Jewish Family out of the closet.
Without a healthy Jewish family, we will simply cease to be a nation.
I want to wipe out the Arab Terror:
We need to be victorious over the enemy.
I want the head of the [Israeli] Supreme Court to have a
Jewish heart and soul, not this punctured-left-branch of the Meretz party.
I want every Jewish child to recognize his roots, to respect his
culture and heritage, to understand why in the world he is in this country
of his [Israel].
Tell me, whether you are with or without a “kippah"--is this not what you want as well?
I was depressed. But I shouldn't be.
My candidate (even though I am not eligible to vote...yet...), Moshe Feiglin, lost. Or did he? He garnered 23% of the vote, which was approximately double that of the last election. A full quarter of Likudniks are fed up with the politcal-existential situation in Israel and see Moshe Feiglin as different, as not-afriad-to-speak-the-truth-about-the-real-situation, and as a real, tangible hope for the future of Israel's survival as a Jewish State. For yet another example of his lack of fear of 'political correctness,' just read this article he wrote which I found on Arutz Sheva, about young Israeli men evading the draft. It is like spraying ice cold water with a high pressure hose on anyone who refuses to see. I am linking it here.
I was depressed. But I shouldn't be. Achieving one's goals takes time, and hard work. So we will continue to get the message out, for the next election.
I was going to post this before the Likud primary but I held off. Even though it is after the fact, I am posting it now. It is a short video in which Moshe Feiglin states what he wants for the survival of Israel, in broad terms. It is in Hebrew, but for those of you who don't understand it I have translated it below (any errors are my own.)
I was depressed, but I shouldn't be. Because it is now the first day of the new campaign. This is what I had originally written:
The Israeli Primaries are Approaching. . .and we need a major change in the Israeli government (and mindset) to improve the political and security "matzav" (situation) current in Israel today. I came across this video on Moshe Feiglin, who is running for head of the Likud party on his Manhigut Yehudit ("Jewish Leadership"- click on title link for the Manhigut Yehudit website) platform, and thought that it was worth posting, especially for people who don't know what he and Manhigut Yehudit are all about (translation below):
So you’re afraid of me?
Because I have a beard? But I don’t have “horns,”
And I don’t go around with a knife between my teeth,
And I don’t want to turn you into “dossim” (religious people).
What I do want? I want to take the Jewish Family out of the closet.
Without a healthy Jewish family, we will simply cease to be a nation.
I want to wipe out the Arab Terror:
We need to be victorious over the enemy.
I want the head of the [Israeli] Supreme Court to have a
Jewish heart and soul, not this punctured-left-branch of the Meretz party.
I want every Jewish child to recognize his roots, to respect his
culture and heritage, to understand why in the world he is in this country
of his [Israel].
Tell me, whether you are with or without a “kippah"--is this not what you want as well?
I was depressed. But I shouldn't be.
Comments
He got nearly 25% percent of the forty thousand voters. That means ten thousand people voted for him. That is exactly the number of voters that Manhigut had registered to the Likud four or five years ago.
In the previous primaries about twelve thousand voted for Fieglin, so he actually lost some supporters in the past two years.
I think it is very clear after several tries that Fieglin is going nowhere.
He has some good ideas but he has a really terrible,repelling personality.
Bibi makes people feel that they belong. He hugs everybody. He's inclusive. Fieglin is just the opposite - he makes me feel that I have to choose - to be with him or against him. That is hardly a good way to attract voters, especially in the most inclusive party in Israel.
He has also made probably every possible political blunder and nearly all of them were completely unnecessary.
I think we can forget about this idea going anywhere soon, at least as long as Fieglin is spearheading it.
i am ... too and i should'nt be
i know
I like his 'in your face' responses to challenging interviewers and the fact he is not intimidated by them, and also am in agreement with much of his platform, including fostering respect for our Jewish heritage by changing the current educational curriculum in the public schools to one that teaches and values Judaism and Torah. And that doesn’t mean everyone has to become religious—not at all; there would be no interference in people’s personal lives. I like his strong stance against Arabs who flagrantly disobey laws, e.g., taking over and squatting in buildings which do not belong to them, and who attack Israelis in the street. And of course, a major point: I like his advocating the annexation of all the so-called 'territories' into Israel proper, the way we should have done right after the 6-day war in 1967.
Maybe it’s time to forget the “American Idol” type image of what a Prime Minister is thought to be, and go for cutting to the point rather than listening to doublespeak. Moshe Feiglin is the one. Plain and simple, there is no one else out there !
I am talking about the personalities of the candidates and that is, I believe, substantial.
Fieglin's personality is not conducive to democratic elections, or else he would already be head of the likud at the very least.
Remember that he is talking directly to Likud members in small forums - he can't hide who he is,and it is there that he is failing miserably.
For most voters a candidate's personality is much more important than his opinions. Most humans connect with each other emotionally and only afterwards intellectually.
This is not going to change any time soon.
Feiglin loves the idea of Am Israel. But he cannot stand its realization. He detests the real actual people of Israel unless they happen to be religious settlers like him and also happen to agree with him.
That is why he is having so much trouble getting likudnikim to vote for him, even when they agree with his ideas.
I have talked to many people who came away from Feiglin feeling this way.I know that he has heard this from some of them too.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/7340
Nuch: Didn't answer you here, because I had already answered you in an email. But I will say, that different people have different midot on which they have to work; one of mine (got lots!)is mitzvah gedola li-heyot be-simchah. It does not come easily to me; it is hard work. That said, I am looking forward to seeing your blog again and seeing you happy!
frumhouse: Thank you for the machma'ah (compliment). I really needed that right now!