7 Adar 5777
I have recently heard Moshe Feiglin referred to as the Israeli Donald Trump - the outsider whom everyone underestimates and who will come to power and clean house. He'll make Israel "great again". God forbid! Because Israel made over into the image of American "greatness" is certainly not what I made aliyah for.
Keep in mind that the greatest leaders of the Jewish people always shied away from leadership. Even when tapped, they tried to refuse. They certainly never put themselves forward - time and time again - trying to convince the Jewish people to appoint them to the leadership position.
Here are some things you should be aware of...
...The reasons there are so many English speakers in Zehut, opined [Shmuel] Sackett, is that “Americans appreciate what true democracy is, and that is why they have gravitated towards the Zehut party. We’re going to have open primaries, the likes of which the state of Israel has never seen before. We are a true, democratic party and Anglos appreciate that.” Zehut will allow one out of every 10 members of its Knesset slate to be representing Zehut International. “Obviously, it will be an Israeli citizen, but that person will be elected to that spot by international members, non-Israeli citizens, because we don’t only just want their money. We want their voice, we want their influence, we want to really give them the feeling that we care about them, and that this is their land as well,” said Sackett.
[At the recent party conference t]here were religious fanatics alongside anarchists, emancipationists with an uncompromising approach toward individual liberties, willing to rebel against all public authority. Religious messianism alongside pragmatism and realpolitik, original thinkers who can be potentially dangerous, but perhaps will herald the message to free Israel from the dead end in which we have been stuck for 50 years. There were rational voices with practical solutions alongside the poetry of dreamers. This diversity would have been nice and enriching, glorifying any large, whole and diverse party – if all of these had not been – one Feiglin. Feiglin is not a rightist, despite his resolve on the Land of Israel issue. The Right feels threatened by him, perhaps justifiably so. He is too original to be anticipated and it seems that he thoroughly enjoys his ability to shake up old dogmas - not something that the conservative Right can bear. Part of the Left, on the other hand, may, by my estimate, connect to the most solid and significant face of this enigmatic and dialectic man – and that is his serious commitment to bring about freedom for humanity. A leader who sees the state mechanisms as a hampering and hindering factor cannot be nationalist. In this way, he is much more of an anarchist. But his anarchism is not of the universal type, as he is firmly attached to Jewish identity as an anchor for liberty. That is liberty to…and not liberty from… The freedom to be what you are - not the freedom to do whatever you want. There is no harder and all-encompassing task for a person than the constant struggle to remain faithful to his inner essence. Feiglin is a philosopher. Whether you like his views or not, he is as smart as can be, a rational utopian who regards the welfare of the individual with the utmost importance – but his method is the opposite of the social/socialists. He is deeply religious and aspires to build the Holy Temple in Jerusalem – but abhors all forms of religious coercion. He really thinks that every Jew – in his own way – has his own place in the mosaic, which will not be complete without him.
He doesn’t give any discounts to his ultra-Orthodox listeners, either, when he presents the homosexual candidate for his party list. (Source)
~~~
The Zehut party of former Likud MK Moshe Feiglin announced Sunday that one of its candidate in the next Knesset election will be economist Gilad Alper, a senior analyst at Excellence Nessuah Brokerage Services and formerly at Merrill Lynch.
Zehut officials said it was important to Feiglin to stress the new party’s liberal economic platform, which Alper wrote. Unlike Feiglin, who is Orthodox and lives in Karnei Shomron, Alper is secular and lives in Tel Aviv, bringing variety to the party. Feiglin said Alper is “an important fresh voice, who has experience and a deep knowledge of the economy.” Zehut will unveil more candidates at its opening convention at the Tel Aviv Port next week, including Druse and haredi (ultra-Orthodox) candidates. (Source)
~~~
From Gilad Alper's Fb page...
Fyi,the only political party in Israel that advocates free market capitalism.
I’ve decided to run in the primaries of the Zehut party!
Some background:
I’m 47yo, graduated magna cum laude from Tel-Aviv University with a BA in economics and I hold a master’s degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH).
I worked as a financial analyst for the past 18 years, including at Commerzbank in London and Merrill Lynch, New York. I’m currently head of foreign equity research at Excellence-Nessuah and I sit on the advisory board of the Israeli MoF.
Why Zehut?
I believe that the classically liberal model (or libertarian as it is known in the US) is morally superior and it leads to economic prosperity that no other system can achieve. Historically, there’s never been a country that stuck to the classically liberal model and failed, and conversely, there’s never been a country that drew away and prospered in the long term.
Zehut is the only party in Israel that will get us closer to this model. It’s that simple.
I was instrumental in writing the economic chapter in Zehut’s platform. If we implement half of it, the economic well-being of the citizenry will improve dramatically. If we implement it all, Israel will become one of the richest countries in the world. Guaranteed.
This is the agenda that I’m committed to pursue:
Economics:
- Emulate the liberal models of successful, developed countries such as Switzerland, New-Zealand and Hong-Kong.
- Lower the cost of living by abolishing state monopolies, tariffs and all other limitations on free trade.
- Government expenditure will stop growing every year. We will rein on profligacy at the public sector.
- We will deregulate the economy and simplify the bureaucracy.
- We will cut the statutory corporate tax rate to 18%. Further cuts will follow in due course.
- With the budget under control and the economy invigorated, we will also be able to lower the tax burden on individuals.
Social issues:
- Privately-owned businesses will operate on Sabbath based on the wishes of the local community. No State coercion.
- Free media – broadcast licenses and frequencies will be given for a small fee. Internet –based media will be free for all: no fees, no licenses, no supervision and no regulations.
- State and Religion: we will promote civil unions and abolish the State monopoly in awarding kosher certificates.
- We will legalize cannabis by equating its legal status to that of alcohol.
Education:This is not a promise of change for the better. This is the path for complete globalist takeover of Israel. Hashem yerachem! And no one who attaches himself to the Torah of Hashem can possibly support this.
- We will promote the voucher system, in parallel to existing government schools. Schools in the voucher system will be free of State supervision.
Housing:
- We will reduce real estate prices by unleashing the free market.
- We will implement existing plans to sell large swaths of State-owned land in the center of Israel.
- We will deregulate the market, currently suffering under the weight of rules, State planning and bureaucracy.
In short...
- Entrenching "democratic values"
- Increased Shabbat desecration
- No central religious oversight of kashrut
- No religious oversight of marriage eligibility
- Foreign "influence" by non-citizens
- Imposition and expansion of Western economic models
- Accommodation to Arab and LGBT "rights" and representation
- Removal of communal responsibility and accountability for educational standards
These descriptions of what is ahead at the hands of Zehut should shake Torah Jews to the core. There are two groups who will never accommodate it - the Chareidim and the Muslim Arabs. If Mashiach is delayed, we may yet have them to thank if this emerging nightmare can be contained and neutralized.
