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Dear Friends in the National Camp Who Want to See a Change of Government in Israel:

By Daniel Green, Jerusalem

Although by now most of you have decided which party will receive your vote on Tuesday, in case you are still undecided or if you want to see Benjamin Netanyahu as the next Prime Minister of Israel but still intend on voting for another right of center / religious party instead of Likud, please take a moment to read further.

1.         If you want to ensure that a center-right government headed by Netanyahu comes to power, voting for a small party on the assumption that it is a natural ally of the Likud may well endanger the formation of such a government.  Voting for small, narrow interest parties rarely advances the interests of their voters and leads to a more unstable government.  In light of the current constellation of support for the leading parties, strategic voting in this election is critical – even if it means sacrificing one’s narrow personal preference for the benefit of a greater cause.

2.         Netanyahu has expressed serious concern that if too many right-wing voters cast ballots for the Likud’s “satellite parties”, Likud could end up losing the election despite leading the entire campaign.  In such a case, it is a real possibility that Kadima could win a plurality of the votes and get the first nod to form a government.  Such a scenario is made all the more possible given the uncertainty surrounding who Lieberman will recommend form the next government – and it may very well be Kadima.  As Likud candidate for Knesset and former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon was recently quoted as saying on Army Radio: “If you want Netanyahu as prime minister, you must vote for Likud and not for other right-wing parties.”

3.         As for Lieberman, he has clearly hit a raw nerve among voters, and his strong persona and clear message appeal to growing numbers of Israelis.  But his message is infused with negativity, anger and fear, offers a potentially dark tomorrow, and threatens Israel’s Jewish and democratic character.  Many of his views are inimical to traditional Jewish values, and he is not opposed to the division of Jerusalem.  Are the values his party expresses your values?  Does the negativity, anger and enmity he espouses reflect your vision for the future of Israel?  Apart from the above considerations, from a strategic perspective support for Lieberman directly harms Netanyahu’s chances of forming the next government, and increasing the likelihood that Livni and Kadima may edge ahead of Likud.

4.         Natan Sharansky has called for the National camp to unify their vote for Likud and for Benjamin Netanyahu for Prime Minister.  In a special video message broadcast last week at a Likud Anglos event, Sharansky said it is important that there be united support for Likud and for Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister.  There is no one who is better able to protect Israeli security and also to ensure good relations between Israel and the United States.

5.         Many people I have spoken with have expressed their clear desire for Netanyahu to lead (the alternatives are simply not alternatives), yet can’t imagine voting Likud and intend to vote for small, narrow-interest parties.  In an ideal world, such an approach may work.  But this is not an ideal world; we simply don’t have that luxury this time ’round.  Likud is not without flaws, and Netanyahu is not a savior.  But he has worked hard with many others to rebuild a party torn apart by the betrayal of Olmert, Livni and other Kadima candidates, and created a clear alternative vision for the future of this country.

6.         Finally, remember – you only have 1 ballot.  Don’t think that you can vote for your party of “choice” and also have Netanyahu; that really may not work and it is a genuine possibility that we will wake up Wednesday morning to find Livni tasked with forming the next government.

If you want to see a strong national government with Netanyahu as prime minister leading our country as we confront the difficult challenges we are facing, it is important to support the Likud tomorrow.

I’m Voting Likud

Dr. Emmanuel Navon

In four days, we Israelis will be called upon to choose our leaders for the next four years (assuming, optimistically, that there won’t be early elections again).  I’m voting for Likud, and I invite you to do the same.
I’m not a typical Likud supporter.  I was born and grew up in France in a liberal and assimilated Jewish family.  I went to Sciences-Po, France’s elite school for Government (Nicolas Sarkozy studied there but didn’t graduate because he failed an English test).  I was on the path that led many of my former classmates to France’s current leadership.  Sarkozy, who was my mayor at the time, could have been my boss today.

But I came to realize that there was no future in Government for a Jew.  So I decided to make aliyah.  I arrived in Israel at a historical moment, not knowing a word of Hebrew. Two weeks before the signature of the Oslo Agreements.  I thought then, like many people did, that peace was within reach.  Then I started noticing Arafat’s doublespeak and lies, as well as the political bias of Israel’s mainstream media and academics.  When Arafat launched his war of terror in the fall of 2000, I joined Likud – not exactly a pragmatic move, since I had just started my academic career. 

 The reason I’m telling you my personal story is so that you realize that I am not trying to convince you because of some ideological or family commitment to the Beitar movement or to Vladimir Jabotinsky.  I joined Likud after changing my mind about many issues.  And I believe that today’s Likud is worthy of our support.  Likud has impressive candidates and is led by a man who has learned from his mistakes.
There are two unfortunate tendencies among Israeli voters these days: indifference and populism.  Many people feel that there is no one to vote for and that it doesn’t really matter who is the next Prime Minister.  Others are carried away by Lieberman’s simplistic rhetoric.  Well, dear fellow Israelis, it will make a big difference whether our next Prime Minister is Tzipi Livni or Benjamin Netanyahu.  And Avigdor Lieberman, who was a member of Olmert’s failed government for over a year, is no Messiah.

Tzipi Livni is an honest and serious person, but she is not a leader.  She keeps reciting over and over the same speech about the need to keep Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, about the world being  divided into the extremists and pragmatists, and about the need not to miss windows of opportunity.  She even looks tired of repeating the same three empty slogans like a broken record.  But she can neither point to any personal accomplishment of her own as foreign minister nor spell out clear and realistic solutions to Israel’s problems.

Ehud Barak is full of himself and doesn’t learn from his mistakes.  He has an impressive military record, but he, too, is no leader.  He is not a  leader because he despises people, is always right, and has no patience for whoever is not as “smart” as him.  He talks about peace but brought upon us two wars (in 2000 and in 2009).  He scoffs at the capitalist system that made him rich.  He wants to keep his job as Defense Minister in a Likud-led government, though he knows that by doing so he will deal a fatal blow to the Labor Party.  He couldn’t care less.

Avigdor Lieberman does say some sensitive things, but some of his more vulgar and rough expressions do him no honor.  It’s easy to draw popular support by talking harshly about Israel’s Arabs.  But let’s see him once he’s in the government –as indeed we saw him when he was in Olmert’s government.  I’m willing to bet that Lieberman will neither repeal  citizenship over loyalty issues nor move the security fence west of Um el-Fahm.

Benjamin Netanyahu, by contrast, has a proven record, has learned from his mistakes, and offers credible solutions to Israel’s problems.

As Finance Minister, Netanyahu rescued Israel’s economy.  He displayed both an acute understanding of economic issues as well as political courage by making unpopular but necessary decisions.  He also did well as leader of the opposition, proposing alternatives to the government’s policies but also defending those policies in the foreign media when the country was at war.

Netanyahu also learned his lessons.  While Barak cannot get over his inflated ego, Netanyahu has become more humble, more considerate, and more open to other people’s ideas.  His political exile seems to have had a positive impact on him.  Our Sages say that Joseph had to sit first in a pit and then in jail, in order to acquire a quality he was lacking, a quality that any true leader needs: humility.  It is a fact that those same people who left Netanyahu ten years ago have now come back to him.  And new people, with impressive records and character, have joined him.  Netanyahu turned a weakened and humiliated Likud into a party prepared to win the upcoming elections with serious and impressive candidates.

Finally, Netanyahu offers concrete and credible solutions to Israel’s major problems.  His economic solutions have proven successful in the past.  His ideas for correcting our dysfunctional educational system have been successfully implemented in countries such as Finland and Singapore.  He has been both warning about and acting against the Iranian threat for the past twelve years.  On the Palestinian track, he avoids both the empty rhetoric of Lieberman and the delusional obsession of those who continue to believe that making Oslo work is just a matter of trying again and harder.  We need a leadership that makes it clear to the US and the EU that, while we aspire to achieve peace, the time for delusions is over.  Both Presidents Obama and Sarkozy have shown understanding for his explaining the need to change reality on the ground (such as building a viable Palestinian economy and a functioning government) before launching hopeless “peace initiatives.” 
 

If what you are looking for is the Messiah, those elections are not for you.  There is no perfect and ideal candidate, and there isn’t a solution to every problem.  But there is a choice between different people and different ideas.  And so if you are ready to settle for less then the Messiah and for less then a perfect world, do vote on Tuesday.  That’s the only way to change and improve reality.  Netanyahu is the most worthy candidate, but he will only be able to govern with a large party and a stable coalition.

Victory on the street-corners = victory at the polls

The activity of volunteers is accelerating as election day nears. We went last Friday with the Likud volunteers in Tel Aviv to hand out stickers and talk to passersby.  The first group stationed itself near the Arlozorof Train Station and the second, at the foot of the Azrieli Towers near the Kirya.

“It was a true experience,” said one of the  activists. “You read news papers, you talk to friends and family but it’s only when you actually get out on the street that you feel what is going on. This is Tel Aviv and  even here, people understand that the time has come to for Likud.” Their enthusiasm became infectious after hearing the  reactions of people on the street. “Likud –nothing else.”, one soldier waved at him as he ran for his train.

There are only a few days left until elections and it seems that the citizens of Israel have already decided – Likud. Nonetheless, we mustn’t be complacent. In order to bring home  a victory, we have to work, to invest time and effort, to bring our enthusiasm and hopes to the  public. The spirit of volunteering and faith is what will bring the Likud its victory.  Not just victory but an overwhelming victory, one that will enable it to lead the country confidently through all of the tremendous challenges it faces: to restore security and peace of mind to all of the citizens of the country; to turn an economic crisis into an opportunity for growth; to transform the Israeli educational system  into one of the finest in the world.

In the two remaining weeks, we will take over the streets and intersections. But next Tuesday, we will all go to Jerusalem, to the great election campaign event  beginning at 19:00 in Binyanei Ha’ooma. For more details, click here.

In preparation for the great election campaign event, you are invited to tell us why it  is important to you to meet Netanyahu personally. The best answer chosen by the visitors to this website will win a visit behind the scenes with Benjamin Netanyahu. If you have an idea, suggestion, or question, you are invited to try to use it to engage the interest of  the next prime minister of Israel. Together we will succeed!

When I made aliyah in the mid-90s, I found myself in political heaven. Raised in the US, I was accustomed to battles between well-coiffed WASPs who differed more in style than substance. Small parties were the habitué of eccentrics. With minor exceptions, for the last 200 years America has offered two flavors – Republicans and Democrats. At times their differences have been very pronounced, but now? On the issue I cared about most – the candidate’s attitude toward the State of Israel – there was no real division. Then I made aliyah, and whoa, did I have choices. Right of right, left of left, parties for the taxi drivers, parties for the pensioners. Parties for businessmen, parties for Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox from Lithuania, parties for Chasidic Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox. Parties for the north, parties for the south, parties all around.

Here in Israel, you can reach a remarkable level of ideological granularity. As a new immigrant, I thought this was swell. And unlike in the States, I wouldn’t have to wait four years to cast my vote. Indeed, I’d been in the country less than a year when an election rolled around. The first time I was eligible to vote, I lined up at a dusty makeshift polling station at my army base and chose a small party that exactly suited my beliefs. Predictably, the small party joined the Netanyahu-led coalition and received its single portfolio. And just like that, the lofty ideals that my small party espoused were muted. My party could sit at the table but could not lead. I felt betrayed. Had my vote yielded no more than a coalition deal and then, silence? Where was I reaping the benefits of voting for my precise ideological match?

 Now, thirteen years on, I’ve learned a few things. Here’s one biggie: Small parties are a waste of your vote. Once the campaign rhetoric melts away, the small parties, whether or not they join the coalition, are not the ones dictating policy. They can posture and threaten to bolt the coalition if their demands are not met, but at the end of the day, the major parties set the tone for the issues we hold most dear. The smaller parties reflect a vital and healthy parliamentary democracy, but in terms of real influence – they’re just along for the ride.

 Chances are if you’re an ideological purist, your party will be at one extreme or the other of the political spectrum. Post-election, they’ll either fall in line in with a single portfolio or howl into the Knesset wilderness from the back benches. And if your small party is for sale, extracting concessions from the highest bidder, well, that’s probably not what motivated your vote, and in any case, you’ll probably come away disappointed. The Oslo Agreement ratification in the Knesset hinged on whether the Labor-led left wing coalition could woo three renegades from Tzomet, a small secular right-wing party whose voters could not have imagined how their Knesset delegates would stray. Two of the three members, Gonen Segev (who would later be convicted of drug smuggling) and Alex Goldfarb were promised cabinet posts in exchange for their betrayal. Could this have been prevented? While certainly no political stripe is exempt from corruption, these members were political unknowns thrust into the spotlight, beholden to no one. Without the vetting process of a primary and national exposure, it’s sometimes hard to know what surprises lurk downlist on a small party, and by the time you find out, it’s sadly too late.

 Like eating a high-calorie delicacy, voting for a small party that perfectly matches your core beliefs might feel good while you’re doing it. But think of the consequences. We’re privileged to live in a time where our votes shape this wonderful still-young nation. Make your vote count by voting for a party that can act.