Time for Left to step up
Left must take advantage of Likud's weaknesses to return to power
The Left's inclination toward depression and weakness is a well-known cultural myth. But nowadays this myth is being reinforced by left-wing activists themselves.
Israel is headed toward a fateful period that is certain to be accompanied by political clashes, but the Left appears to be withering away, as if the all-encompassing arms of the Likud party are sucking the life right out of it.
In actuality, voters of leftist parties have long since been walking around with the feeling that the Likud's reign is irreversible. However, the post-disengagement period marks an unprecedented opportunity to advance a true leftist alternative.
The Likud is currently suffering from the same symptoms that led to the Labor party's downfall in 1977: It is a corrupt party that tends to the interests of a few cronies; it has lost touch with its supporters; it has lost its revolutionary fervor.
This is the Left's opportunity to offer Israeli society a fresh perception, but in order to do so it must look back on how the Likud managed to capture hearts and minds during former Prime MinisterMenachem Begin's era.
First of all, the Left must absorb young and authentic leadership, as the Likud's 1977 victory was based on an in-house revolution that Begin initiated, which included the advancement of young community leaders such as David Levy, Moshe Katsav and Meir Sheetrit.
Sparks are flying
Secondly, the Left must once again believe in itself, and regain the revolutionary zeal it had lost many years ago.
It is important to substantiate the fact that a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders is the true Zionist and patriotic solution, especially when one considers the collapse of the Right's historical perception.
At the same time, the Left must get back to its real forte: social activism.
Amid the unified capitalistic block led by the likes of Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, the Left must demand the general public retrieve what has been taken away from it by the economic elite, which threatens to create third world-type social gaps and formulate cruel fiscal policies similar to those implemented in America.
The Left must not forgo its Jewish identity and allow the right to claim the Jewish spirit as its own; it belongs to all of us.
The Left is standing at a historical crossroads. Today, more than ever, it can renew the connection it has lost with the different sectors of society - secular and religious, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, Russian and Arab.
The Left is capable of offering these sectors a bond that would answer to their specific needs and to those of the public in general.
The change is nearing, the sparks are already flying. The demand is there, now we are in need of leadership that would answer the call.
This is the time for the Left to step up. This is our time.
