Likud Central Committee convention
Photo: Yaron Brenner
Unity? Not at any price
Likud party must return to its nationalist identity
The issue facing not only the Likud, but the entire country, has little to do with the date of internal primary elections ahead of next year's general election. It is not about choosing Netanyahu or Sharon.
The question is whether Likud Central Committee members can free themselves from the prisons that restrict them. Can they look at themselves in the mirror and decide to move from the ideals of Labor to Herut (the precursor to Likud, headed by Menachem Begin), from slavery to freedom, and make a move that will bring them back to their identities and their souls?
Is it really so outrageous to condition a seemingly technical decision like the date for primaries on regaining our lost identity, and going from slavery to freedom?
Political Analysis
Attila Somfalvi
"If the Likud Central Committee votes to bring forward the primaries, they will finally prove that the Committee has some importance," said a distinguished, and cynical aide to Ariel Sharon. "And that importance is," he continued, "that after such a vote, it will be proven that there is logic in madness"
The answer is no. It is not outrageous. Bringing forward the primaries is a code-word for returning to the nationalist path - to a path of life, not only from a point of view of content, but also from the point of view of meaning.
In essence, it is a necessary decision after a crushing trauma. It is a rape victim that decides to free herself from the brutality of the domineer who sold her into prostitution.
The bizarre developments by which the party chairman has managed to trample the will of the voter, silence most of the public, prostitute his colleagues, plant rocks in the hearts of our security forces and instill slave-like obedience to him and his family instead of the soul of the Likud – that is the main issue.
And the issue will reverberate with every chord in our lives. It is as wide as the ocean and an immense threat. It could be that without fixing the problem immediately, the damage could take generations to repair, like the failed messiah-ship of Shabbtai Tzvi in the 17th century. But this is an issue that will be discussed if and when the issue of primaries is decided.
The challenge at the moment is much simpler: The nature of the decision about primaries.
And what of the nature? The decision is fundamentally different from earlier decisions in the Central Committee that were set up for scorn and mockery.
But for that reason, it could have healing powers as well. It relates to two principles: Action that creates hope and whether unity can be established or will fall.
Shas stayed away
In all previous clashes between the Likud public and the representative who stole the party and drove it in the opposite direction, party decisions – whether in the Central Committee or throughout the Likud – were essentially "recommendations" – suggestions by a non-governmental body to the Israeli government.
True, the government was manned by party representatives, but they forgot their responsibilities to their constituencies as soon as they got their hands on the nice leather Knesset chairs. And so, with legal-economic-media help, the public who sent them there was made irrelevant and a laughing stock.
Such was the fate of the vote about a Palestinian state; so, too was the greatest democratic decision in the history of the first Israeli republic – a referendum on the fate of the architect of "disengagement"; thus the decision to include the Labor Party and the ultra-Orthodox in the government was turned into an object of scorn.
Labor joined, a few orthodox were paid off, but the largest bloc – Shas – stayed away.
But this time we are speaking about a real decision. No more "suggestions." An actual decision that, if successful, will be carried out in accordance with the will of the Likud Central Committee membership.
'Likud unity' rooted in our genes
And all this, despite the predictable enlistment of the powers that be: From the Supreme Court club, to the 300-or-so members of hostile media, who control the faucet that determines the votes of the Israelite, all the way to help from the general prosecutors office and experts of a particular sector.
This is supposed to put us at ease? In reality, there is an added value to fighting those who protect Sharon: Restoring our stolen identity and soul.
Therefore, all that is left is to determine just how much the mantra "unity" requires primaries. There is no question that the desire for "national unity", followed by "Likud unity," is rooted in our genes.
In addition, the right has been fractured and suffered large-scale disasters, stemming from this lack of foresight.
So, we must prove that this claim has no validity, is not simple, and logic alone won't do away with the claim. This sort of logic apparently stems from the question: Can we have 'unity' without a joint goal?
Maximum freedom from financial pressures
And to continue to measure the damage done by forged "unity" – the type that will blow up in our faces, at the worst possible time.
But, as noted above, when speaking about "Likud unity," one mustn't rely on logic alone. This "unity" is the standard threat preferred by the residents of Sycamore Ranch (Sharon’s southern residence).
As he himself once put it, "You want the symbol to take power."
Today, the internal absurdity of the threat is as clear as day, and the follow-up questions that present themselves now should have been dealt with in the beginning: Why would Sharonism be permitted to the far-left? How close is he really to the identity and soul of the Likud? And, if the left took power, how could it threaten us more than what has already happened? What kind of brutality would transpire? And the Sharon government - the one calling the shots and dictating policy – this is our "symbol"?
Sharon’s advisors, those who will pop the balloon called "Likud unity," can even take it up a notch and advance true unity among people.
There is no unity when the partners enter the wedding canopy knowing ahead of time they will pursue conflicting interests. In this case, the claim of "unity" won't hold. Therefore, it is clear that those demanding "Likud unity" must condition that unity on faithfulness to the identity of the Likud (the opposite of what happened during the disengagement) and promise maximum freedom from financial pressures and criminal investigations.
Under these conditions, there is no conflict between primaries, a return to the Likud's identity and unity in the party.
Dr. Gadi Eshel is a member of the Likud Central Committee
