Bibi starting out on left foot

For one day, the election of Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be a refreshing gust of wind, the beginning of the recovery of the Zionist camp from the crises that it has undergone of late, and the beginning of a true opposition to the Sharon-Peretz-Meretz left-wing bloc.

But if the new Likud chief doesn't come to his senses immediately and reject out-of-hand the anti-democratic ideas currently before him, he could lose himself – and us – even before the very necessary process of rehabilitation.

Israel under Ben-Gurion

During the first 19 years of Israel's independence, the country was ruled by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's world view: No Herut Party, no Israel Communist Party. In other words, no right and no left.

It was only when the country was threatened that Prime Minister Levi Eshkol came to his senses in 1967 and created the first national unity government, including Menachem Begin, and brought Israel to victory in the Six Day War.

The 1977 elections proved Israel was capable of having a country not run by the old Mapai Party, thus imparting an important contribution to Israeli democracy.

Since that revolution, and even though the right has been in government nearly all the ensuing years – even if not in power all the time – a hostile left-wing has developed in that time, both in the realms of policy and of public debate.

Supported by both the media and courts, who have enthusiastically given their support, the Right has been presented as a corrupt group of warmongers, riff-raff unworthy of power, etc.

Left-wingers, together with their microphones in the "official" media, never let reality or the facts come altogether out.

Peres-Beilin messianism

When the public passed judgment on the foul leadership of the left in 1977, one prominent left-wing leader said the it was the people who needed changing; when the policy brought about by the "peace" camp blew up in our faces in 1996, Peres et al continued to sell their nonsense of a new Middle East and to do their best to ruin Netanyahu's – who was elected to rescue Israel from the Peres-Beilin messianism – reign.

When the same folks brought us the predictable Oslo War, voters threw out Barak because of his weak hand and elected Sharon to return fire, the left lost no opportunity to attack the prime minister. It was only when Sharon proved he was the only person who could carry out left-wing policy – that is to say, anti-democratic transfer – only then did his political enemies begin to defend him and his corrupt rule.

All the while, the Israeli public got used to the notion that the political spectrum has only one end: There is a radical right, but no radical left. Over there are the moderates; that the world can be split into two halves: there is the peace camp – despite the fact that it brought us the toughest war Israel has faced, the

Oslo War – and then there is the right, supposedly anti-peace.

There are those who are considered kosher to join Sharon's next government – including Meretz and the Arabs – and those beyond the pale of consideration, dismissed as the radical right; there is the 'enlightened' Left, and the 'ignorant' Right.

Advice for Netanyahu

Against this background, the media barons and other types with an interest in protecting Sharon have not stopped denigrating those true to traditional Likud ideology "rebels," and those who have warned about the dangers of Sharon's policies "radicals" and "Feiglins."

Against this background, the media has ignored Professors for a Strong Israel, the very existence of which stands in contrast to the way they have tried so hard to portray the right.

Against this background, candidate Netanyahu was attacked for being supported by Uzi Landau and Moshe Feiglin; he was even accused of representing them. Against this background, the idea sprouted to block Feiglin from running for the Knesset on the Likud ticket.