The Foundation for Constitutional Democracy

With election talk in the wind, Yamin Israel is asked whether it will compete as a separate party, or unite with one of the so-called nationalist parties. Well, we do not want to split the nationalist camp, if only there was such a creature. We certainly advocate “territorial” nationalism, as do Moledet, Tekuma, Mafdal, and Herut.

The trouble is, their commitment to territorial nationalism, which we share, has not prevented Israel’s retreat from Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Why? Because, unlike Yamin Israel, they are not “institutional” nationalists: they do not see that Israel’s governing institutions actually hinder their nationalist objectives.

In contrast, Yamin Israel insists and has shown that institutional reform is a NECESSARY PRECONDITION for preserving Israel’s territorial integrity as well as for preserving Israel as a Jewish state. This is what makes Yamin Israel the only comprehensive nationalist party: we combine territorial nationalism and institutional nationalism.

Therefore, we advocate a Structure of Government that will unify the Jewish people, and that will strengthen their sense of national identity and purpose. National unity is impossible so long as the Government or cabinet consists of six or seven rival parties each pursuing its own agenda. Multi-party cabinet government must be replaced by a popularly elected President whose cabinet will consist, not of party fiefdoms, but of a team publicly committed to the President’s campaign program. That makes for a strong but also transparent Government committed to a coherent, national program.

But then the Government must be balanced by a strong and transparent Knesset—the proper place for diversity. Knesset Members (MKs) must no longer be invisibly dependent for their position and perks on party leaders. They must be individually elected by, and accountable to, the people in constituency elections—the practice of 74 democracies, large and small. This will prevent them from betraying their voters, as Ariel Sharon and his lackeys did when they adopted Labor’s program of disengagement. You can’t be a serious nationalist if you support the present structure of government that enables politicians to betray the nation.

The election of 2003, in which Labor received only 19 seats, shows that most people are territorial nationalists. They voted overwhelming against disengagement, and serious polls show they don’t want a Palestinian state. Nevertheless, because MKs are not individually accountable to the people in constituency elections, they cannot oppose their party leaders without committing political suicide, especially when their party leaders are cabinet ministers.

But since the Prime Minister can sack a cabinet minister, he can dominate his cabinet and ignore the convictions of the Jewish people. He could not do this if Israel had a constitutional system of checks and balances. When Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin said, in effect, that the rule of law is lacking in Israel, he was tacitly admitting that there is something rotten about Israel’s governing institutions.

The people know this. Studies show that almost 90% of the public are disgusted with Israel’s system of government, but feel powerless to change it—and how can they if no party is seriously committed to basic institutional reform?

Therefore, Yamin Israel is ready to unite with any territorial nationalist party that would be ready to enlarge its political horizons and recognize a simple truth: we must empower the Jewish people by means of a Presidential system of government and constituency elections. This is the only way to obtain political leaders whose personal interests will coincide with the national interest—the key to preserving the territorial integrity of Eretz Israel.