Moshe Feiglin
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Great victory for Israel
Likud's conduct vis-à-vis Feiglin flawed, but decision to bump him down vital
The manner in which Likud officials are dealing with the Feiglin mess is not perfect, to say the least, but make no mistake about it: The victory that we saw Thursday against Moshe Feiglin is everyone's triumph, not only Benjamin Netanyahu's win.
Feiglin jeopardized not only Likud, but the entire Israeli party-based democratic system. Had his sly scheme to take over Likud worked as planned, we would see many people in other parties trying to imitate him. In other words, the Likud Election Committee's conduct is not perfect, to say the least, yet this is nothing compared to Feiglin's conduct.
It doesn’t matter who you intend to vote for in the upcoming general elections, the decision to bump Feiglin down to the 36th spot on the Likud Knesset list is an important achievement in national terms. The arguments for doing it are logical, yet the way it was done was twisted.
Likud Primaries
Amnon Meranda
Citing lack of faith in Likud's internal court system, the proverbial thorn in party chairman Netanyahu's side waves white flag of defeat after being shoved from coveted 20th slot on roster for upcoming elections to the unrealistic 36th
We need to understand something: Moshe Feiglin has been attempting to enter the Knesset for 15 years now. We are dealing with a person backed by a movement that knows it has no chance to get the people's vote of confidence should it offer its dangerous merchandize to the public. So instead, it attached itself to another movement, Likud, and through it is making a name for itself.
Feiglin has a headquarters, offices, and people who work for him. He published a newspaper, wrote books, organized conventions, and did it all with a clear objective: To make his way into Likud, a party whose views he does not agree with, and through it take over Israel's agenda.
Feiglin sought to use the Likud as a major platform for his peculiar views, such as the need to kick Arabs from Temple Mount or to rebuild Gush Katif. He should have been disqualified in a somewhat more proper and transparent manner.
However, more importantly, his stinging ultimate defeat brings hope back to anyone who cares about politics. It keeps hope alive for anyone who believes that our political parties are still the authentic representatives of the will of the people, and not some sort of tool at the service of foreign millionaires who make use of stubborn figures with baseless views as part of a master plan to implement their delusional ideas in Israel.
