By Avi Hyman and Yosef Fuerst
With only a day to go have you decided where your vote is going? Are you at peace with your decision? Or are you like too many people allowing the pollsters and naysayers to decide where your ballot goes?
This past summer countless Jewish tears were shed as we all suffered through the expulsion and destruction of Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron communities. We all stood by helpless as thousands of soldiers bearing the Jewish flag on their uniforms dragged our people away from our territory with despicable ease. Ariel Sharon proved that after 2000 years of exile it still isn’t that difficult to uproot Jews and send them packing.
Ask yourself, throughout this travesty where were the people we on the right elected to prevent such an occurrence? Where was our voice in the Knesset? Where was the justice?
The National Union and National Religious Party will have you think that they represent the religious public and the residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza refugees. So where were they when the days of Orange came and went? What did they do when it really mattered?
National Union’s Effie Eitam was in Kfar Maimon convincing people not to march on towards Gush Katif when the Israeli army contained there some 40,000 protesters like criminals. Afterwards, in the midst of the Expulsion he was in Netzer Hazani busy hugging soldiers as they arrived, having already publicly condemned calls for mass military insubordination on “moral” grounds.
His former, come current colleague in the NRP Zevulun Orlev (now number 2 on the NU-NRP joint list—and first in line for a cabinet position) managed to stay in the government up until just minutes before the active Expulsion began so that he could “influence from within”.
This past summer it was clear to everyone that we needed a change in the right wing. It was clear to everyone that the NU and NRP had failed to protect our interests.
Clearly, the time had come for a truly Jewish nationalist party to replace both the NU and NRP. Instead, we, the betrayed, have received a joint NU-NRP list. Worst of all, people are going to add insult to the injury of the Gush Katif tragedy and actually waste their votes on this joint venture of failure!
It doesn’t take a political scientist or genius to realize that we have already tried the NRP-NU way and that they both failed miserably during their most crucial test this past summer. Is anyone so foolish to think that they will be stronger, better, or more right wing when united? To the contrary, Moledet has already removed “transfer” from its program (again) just to lure the NRP into the union, what further compromises will come to pass when it comes time to form the next government? Does anyone find Zevulun Orlev more credible now than he was 20 minutes before the NU-NRP merger? Moreover, the NU-NRP’s best plan to prevent future Expulsions has been to advocate referenda on issues of territorial concessions—which is just a euphemism for saying that they actually take no serious stance on the issue.
Ironically, the NU-NRP TV campaign advertisements have sarcastically told voters to thank all those who were responsible for this summer’s tragedy like Ehud Olmert, Tazhi Hanegbi, etc. Truly ironic this is indeed, for who better to “thank” than the very parties elected and trusted to prevent or at least offer serious opposition to such policies in a meaningful way: the NU and NRP.
This election, more than ever we cannot afford to compromise or waste our vote!
This election the vengeance of Gush Katif should fury in every voting booth!
Hazit is the answer!
Baruch Marzel’s activist reputation precedes him; his election slogan stands for something that is credible and realistic: ‘This time no compromise’. The possibility of Baruch Marzel entering the Knesset backed by the revolutionary profundity of Professor Paul Eidelberg inspires fear into the hearts of all other so-called “right wing” parties—fear that they will be exposed. Hazit is the only party that seriously advocates electoral reform on Jewish premises that could put an end to the un-Jewish and arguably un-democratic political system currently maintained in Israel. Hazit is the only party that challenges the corrupted establishment at its core!
Yet many continue to heed the mantras of false pragmatism, which say not vote for a party that won’t pass the electoral threshold. Moreover, what about the Rabbis that now adhere more to polls than justice and tell us not to vote for Hazit because it won’t pass the electoral threshold? First of all let us not forget that if your Rabbi calls white black and black white, you are obligated to believe what you know is true. How many of the same Rabbi’s called upon us to vote NRP and NU until this summer? How many more told us not to worry, that the expulsion of the Jews from Gush Katif would never happen? Great Rabbis such as Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg, Rosh yeshiva of Kever Yosef Yeshiva in Shchem disagree and supports Hazit.
Furthermore, these mantras were proven to be no more than campaign rhetoric when on March 23rd Yediot Aharonot reported that only a 60% voter turnout is expected this election, resulting in the 2% electoral threshold to equal a mere 54,000 votes. Hazit has recently publicized in various mainstream media (see Maariv March 27) that it has received confirmed support from upwards of 65,000 voters—a number that may easily exceed 70,000 before Election Day—thereby smashing the electoral threshold! This latest update represents an increase of more than 8,000 in just the week after Baruch Marzel held a press conference to announce that he had garnered a petition of over 57,000 voters who will definitely be voting Kaf this Tuesday.
The question then remains, what could Hazit do with two or three Knesset seats that no other party could do? The answer is start a political revolution.
With public funding and support Hazit will seek out every public forum and denounce the anti-democratic ways of the “only democracy in the middle east” advocating the empowerment of the Jewish people in Israel through authentically Jewish and democratic means.
Hazit will expose the Supreme Court and show the nation how unjust and biased it truly is—not to mention its judges total disregard for Jewish law and heritage.
Hazit will propose the adoption of a Jewish Constitution based on authentic Jewish values that will make Israel a truly Jewish state and serve to counteract the current Knesset Constitution Committee who is working night and day to draft an ultra secular constitution whose sole purpose is to separate religion and state and undermine our very heritage.
Hazit will propose a strong fiscal policy that will divert funds to the poor and promote Jewish Aliyah by limiting the amounts wasted by Israel’s system of government and the disproportionately inequitable amounts of National Security funds allocated to large Arab families. Additionally, employee empowerment programs and the breaking of both public and private monopolies will not only strengthen Israel’s economy but also finally destroy the myth of Israeli dependence upon American aid.
This election, post Gush Katif rage should shake in every ballot box. The time is now to make a difference were it counts!
Hazit will not wait to hug the soldiers as they come to deport our citizens from their homes, it will go on the political offensive demanding radical change and represent the voice of unheard Israeli masses.
This election we cannot afford to compromise, this time you cannot afford to waste your vote.
[Bio: Avi Hyman- you have yours already, Yosef Fuerst is student advisor to the Yamin Israel Party, which recently merged with Baruch Marzel’s Jewish National Front party (Hazit)]
