Likud maverick stands firm; Feiglin argues for his ideals

When Moshe Feiglin spoke with the Jewish Star the day after the charedi enlistment bill reading, he appeared tired but sharp and determined, clearly and unequivocally stating his views with conviction.

Feiglin is against releasing terrorists and against freezing construction in Israel. “It starts from the fact that the leadership doesn’t believe that the land belongs to the Jews,” he said. “The handshake between the leaders of Israel and the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization), the organization that wants to liberate the Land of Israel from the Jews, means we accept the rationale that the land belongs to them not us.” By releasing terrorists, deep inside, they see them as POWs, freedom fighters, not terrorists, he said.

“And when someone writes graffiti on an Arab mosque they are afraid that it will wake up conflict that we are on the right side of the argument, fear of Israel’s leaders from dealing with our own justification for being here. It starts with mental withdrawal. We need leadership that understands what we are doing here in Israel. We have to talk about justice, not pragmatism. You are not willing to give away land so easy if you know that it’s yours — Zo Artzeinu (This is our land).”

Zo Artzeinu was a movement cofounded in 1993 by Feiglin with Shmuel Sackett to protest the Oslo Accords. In 1995 a mass act of civil disobedience initiated by Zo Artzeinu blocked 80 intersections throughout Israel. Feiglin was sentenced to six months in prison for sedition that was later commuted to community service. In 1996 Manhigut Yehudit grew out of Zo Artzeinu as a Jewish leadership movement, becoming a faction of Likud in 2000. Feiglin won a seat in this, the 19th Knesset, becoming deputy speaker.

“The solution is to annex the land,” he said. “We declare to all nations this is our land and only Israel has sovereignty on Har Habayit (the Temple Mount). That is the heart of the land, the holiest place of the Jews.”

When the land is annexed, he said, “prices will go down, Aliyah will increase. We will encourage Arabs to find a future in different countries by transferring the money spent on Oslo to help those Arabs express their will to leave. All this will lead to a new Middle East where the next generation, 20 years from now, will have a secure and successful Jewish state to lead. It’s just a question of the right leadership and the will.”

Now, he said “I see a lion that thinks he’s a rabbit. We need more Knesset members to put their political future on the line to stop it.”

He said that he went almost every month on to Har Habayit, the Temple Mount. (Some rabbis forbid the entry of Jews to the Temple Mount but others promote it after proper ritual purification, the proper state of mind, and going with someone who knows precisely where one is permitted to enter according to rabbinic recommendations.) He condemned the government for prohibiting him from ascending to the Temple Mount (Jews are the only ones the Arab Wakf restricts — not allowing Jewish prayer on Judaism’s holiest site).

“We need to build Jewish leadership,” he continued. “More are coming to my point of view. People understand that the Oslo solution is a disaster. People are afraid of the Arabs and don’t believe in themselves.” He said they think if they “keep quiet” the Arabs will disappear “instead of dealing with the enemy.”

Feiglin is against forced conscription — Charedi and not Charedi — he said. He said that the IDF doesn’t need extra manpower and forcing the Charedim to serve is “not the way to achieve it. I think every Israeli should go to the army for a short period of time — two months at age 18,” noting that yeshiva students can enter bain hazmanim (between learning semesters in the summer), and men and women should be in the army but segregated.

Then, he posited, they should be offered a good salary and professional and academic training and will have “high creditability” in Israeli society and accept those who want to serve. He said that this will make the army stronger, saying that about fifty percent are not needed. If G-d forbid more will be needed, he said, everyone already had basic training — in his plan.

He also said that the yeshivot shouldn’t get less government funding than the universities and the government should be less involved with the life of the citizens but if already subsidizing academy learning it can’t be that Torah learning gets less.

Said MK Feiglin to the Jews in America, ”Come to Israel to help and help yourself by helping Israel — you will have future generations come.”