[At the conference in Ariel, small right wing Jewish groups tried to coordinate their activities.]
In a textbook account of the Russian revolution, navy sailor Anatoly Zheleznyakov ended the short liberal era and dispersed the parliament at 4:00 A.M. with, “Please finish. The guard is tired and wants to sleep.”
Russian liberals failed to grasp that a systemic crisis calls for radical solutions, not moderation. Their goals were correct, but their conferences irrelevant, their solutions theoretical. The Israeli Right treads the same path.
A conference in Ariel excluded the followers of Meir Kahane, the only people on the right who know what a Jewish state is and what must be done to create it. The conferencing right-wingers wanted to look civil, moderate, and acceptable to the Israeli establishment. They set polite goals, such as rejecting giveaways of Israeli land to the Palestinians. The only fine point they did not consider was, Why would the government listen to them? Voters on the right are few and not swingers. The Israeli government just does not care for their opinion.
Ariel Eldad noted correctly that only force could convince the government. Yet Moshe Feiglin’s example showed that a few arrests counter moderate force.
Israeli society is long past democratic measures or even non-violent protests. No arguments will convince Israeli leftists and cowards. No demonstrations will change the course of the assimilationist government.
Bolsheviks constituted hardly 0.01% of the Russian population, yet they finished the old order off. A few thousand Israelis could do away with the treacherous government and change the course of the Jewish state, provided they abandon moderation.
Two approaches could work. One is to change Israel’s policy and government by non-democratic means. Another is to abandon decomposing Israel and to establish a second. truly Jewish state in Judea and Samaria. No other options are worth the paper to write them down.
The historical analogue is somewhat flawed: the state of Israels defenders of the state is far superior to the guardians of the Russian governemnt. Any attempt at a coup would be bound to failure.
But Russian Tsarist state looked so strong in 1904…A decade of propaganda does wonderful things. Now it's time for talk and test action, like in Amona.
To add to what James said, when provoking an oponent without fear of Heaven, the consequences will be most painful. At Amona they didn't mind breaking bones of non-violent girls. In the case of a more serious movement, they can resort to means way out of our league, both moral and logistic.
To Beniamin: aren't the Jews used to that kind of opponent? Weren't our oppressors always ruthless and not fearing the Heaven? Yet we survived, and the oppressors perished.
Obadiah,I fail to understnad how a government, yours or mine, can sit back and allow these events to occur then get hamstrung by the EU and the despots in the Middle East. I am all for not just the survival of Israel but also it's growth. Being a Christian I am constantly accused of millenialism. I can say wholeheartedly my support for Israel has nothing to do with it. I can admit that their is a faith aspect to it and that has to do with my faith coming out of Judaism. Being American and having freedoms and liberties that many in the world do not, I respect Israel for trying what it can to be a similar beacon in the Middle East. Also being an American I have sympathy for the underdog. Especially the one with aparent overwhelming odds. Israel has been fighting for it's very existence since it's inception and not because it has done anything wrong.I would very much like to take the fight to the Islamists who call for Israels destruction while they pummel it with Homicide bombers, Kassam rockets, and distorted propaganda that is reported in the media.The free world is at a crossroads and Israel is the frontline. Unfortunately politics trumps truth.
But the politicians cannot lie indefinitely. Finally, the truth will triumph. By then, the chance for relatively bloodless solutions would be lost.
To Danny: We survived by shuting up or/and going somewhere else; the oppressors perished by themselves, not by us rebeling against them.The blog is about realpolitik and you give an answer based on faith.
To Beniamin: Quite often, faith - or call it, ideology - makes a very real politics.The politically correct government is cowardly. Amona is more or less its apogee. It cannot afford to jail or beat dozens of thousands of Jews. Two thousands - yes, but not fifty thousands. At Gush Katif demonstrations, they were too peaceful. In Amona, they were too few. A fifty thousand Jews ready for violence, or jail, that's all we need to break the government.
To Obadiah & Danny,Obadiah mentioned two alternatives (changing the Israeli government or starting a new state in Judea and Samaria). I think the most effective solution would be to pursue both courses at once. Eventually, the Israeli government will have pressure from all sides: Europe, US, UN, Arabs, Muslims, and Jews. They will realize that they can get rid of all the pressure by giving their burden (the disputed territories) to the religious camp. At that point, the religious camp will offer to stop trying to overthrow the government in return for Judea and Samaria. It will be a win-win-win-win situation.
To Beta: Makes sense to me.
I say- f*ck the goverment of Israel. They have no respect for jewish values, why then should we have respect for it!It´s- Total war or say godbye to our existence as jews!If you doubt it, read your bible in Parashat Pinchas- where it says exactly how we should act in case of abomination of our values.Israel was build by secular communists and I am sure it was a divine plan to create a contrast between the right and the wrong. When Israel lived by somewhat traditional values, we were protected. Now we are sitting ducks!Only by the grace of G-d we are still there.Forget the nicities and do war with the leftiests.
I agree with RO. Only your belief in the fact that your God would be disapproving should stop you from defending yourself. It seems patently obvious to anyone with a brain that self-defense is a right, and to carry the fight to a determined enemy is only an extension of self-defense, and a logical one. For the life of me, they should lock up liberals in a different state, so that us conservatives could protect ourselves in peace.