Moshe Feiglin Interview on BBC News

Mr. Feiglin drops truth bombs on the interviewer! Nice!

Moshe Feiglin in a Truly Fascinating Interview

The Likud lost a visionary:

Moshe Feiglin's 180 Degree Turn

David Rubin takes note:

Interviewed today on the “Galei Yisrael” radio station, Feiglin was asked if he might be interested in running as a candidate in one of the existing faith-based parties that are loyal to the land and heritage of Israel. He replied that he wasn’t interested, that what is important is not the party, rather its vision, and therefore he plans to form his own party.

One has to wonder what he is talking about and why. For nearly twenty years, Feiglin has been endlessly promoting the concept of influencing the political process from within the ruling party, the Likud. Often denouncing the smaller sectarian/nationalistic parties, he boldly proclaimed that he would achieve his national-religious objectives and achieve leadership within the Likud. Not satisfied with simply becoming a member of Knesset and increasing the national-religious membership in a party that was not religious at its ideological core, Feiglin inexplicably declared that he would eventually become the leader of the Likud, and he ran several expensive, but failed campaigns to achieve that objective.

To now establish a new political party and to say that “this is a continuation of the mission” sounds disingenuous and even hypocritical. In the above interview, Feiglin even disparaged those who told him that starting a new political party would split the national-religious vote, even though this is in fact what it would do.

The tragic irony is that the great champion of the “big party system” has taken a 180-degree turn, as a result of his personal failure to get reelected. To his credit, Feiglin’s policy goals have always been serious and consistent, and he has proven himself effective at explaining and getting publicity for those views, but his grand political strategy to change and take over the Likud from within has been a disaster. Despite a slight rightward shift in the composition of the party over the past few years, the Likud has remained basically the same Likud that talks about the land of Israel, yet freezes Jewish building in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem; that threatens the Palestinian Authority, yet doesn’t follow through on those threats; that starts wars, but doesn’t follow through or allow the IDF to win decisive victories.

I would like to mention that I know of an important rabbi, who also joined the Likud way back when, perhaps even before Moshe Feiglin, who also thought that the only way to really influence Israeli policy was to be a part of the ruling party.

It seems that politics has little room for ideological purists. If you are not ready to compromise on certain matters you will find yourself in the opposition or outside of the Knesset entirely.

Moshe Feiglin and Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer on the Law: Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People

Sorry, but this is in Hebrew. From this debate you can see how important this law really is:

חה"כ פייגלין קורא לשר אהרונוביץ' להתפטר

MK Moshe Feiglin on the Temple Mount

Before you do this, please consult your local Orthodox rabbi:

Where's the Money?

MK Moshe Feiglin tells the Knesset where the money is:

Moshe Feiglin Speaks

This is a long clip, over 40 minutes long. I surprised myself by investing the time to listen to him. What can I say? The guy is a thinker with interesting and revolutionary ideas.

Talking About Pollard in the Knesset

MKs Yoni Shetbon and Nachman Shai initiated a special discussion in the Knesset today regarding Jonathan Pollard. MK Moshe Feiglin reiterated that if President Obama comes to Israel before releasing Pollard from prison, he (Moshe Feiglin) will boycott Obama's speech in the Knesset. Her urged other MKs to do the same:

Boycott Obama!

Moshe Feiglin has come up with an excellent idea. The continued incarceration of Jonathan Pollard should not be tolerated. Therefore, if President Obama does not do the right thing, that is to say pardon Jonathan Pollard, he should be boycotted here in Israel:

When an American President visits the Knesset, it's an event, and all members of the plenum want to be there to hear what their esteemed guest has to say. But at least one Knesset member is likely to be absent next month when President Barack H. Obama speaks to MKs. Likud Knesset member Moshe Feiglin said that he would not attend the speech – unless Obama brought Jonathan Pollard with him.

“We are losing Pollard,” Feiglin wrote on his Facebook page Thursday. “Today, on the Fast of Esther, I realized that we have reached a 'red line' on Pollard.

“President Barack Hussein Obama is due to arrive in Israel on the eve of Passover,” Feiglin wrote. “We welcome him. But we want to welcome our brother, Jonathan Pollard, too. G-d willing, when Obama releases our brother Jonathan, we will gladly welcome Obama and listen to his speech” - but not before, Feiglin wrote.

Feiglin called on fellow MKs to follow his example. According to Feiglin, an empty Knesset during the time of Obama's speech will impress upon the President how Knesset members and Israelis feel about “the government that continues to hold our brother prisoner for 28 years.”

If Obama does not release Pollared, I would just love to see him ascend to the Knesset podium, and read from his teleprompter to an empty chamber.

The Moshe Feiglin Story

Moshe Feiglin's First Speech in the Knesset

Baffled in Sderot: By Moshe Feiglin

I received another thought provoking piece from Moshe Feiglin in the mail:

2 Kislev, 5773 Nov. 16, '12

Translated from the Makor Rishon newspaper

What is the solution for the constant missile attacks in southern Israel? Those who have a solution are the same people who warned against signing the Oslo Accords, in the first place. These people continue to be sidelined. Clearly, the Oslo advocates have no intention of giving up the profits and perks of the "peace industry" that they have created.

Those profits are not necessarily monetary. Our current president enjoys his position because of the peace industry. He has also become a wealthy man thanks to "peace", but that is only a small part of the problem. The peace industry advocates are senior media personalities, well-connected industrialists and politicians who climbed the political ladder with alacrity once they realized on which side their bread was buttered.

Most seriously, the peace industry also includes a thick swath of senior IDF officers who understood that their path to progress was paved with Oslo and who erased the concept of victory from their lexicon. In Oslo we surrendered the belief in the justice of our cause, exchanging it for pragmatism. He who surrenders the belief that he is just is incapable of winning.

On Tuesday of this week, I was at a campaign rally in Sderot. "I would like to ask what some of you may see as a strange question," I said to the audience in the packed hall. "In the war that is raging right now (this was before the major fighting began on Wednesday) between us and the Gazans, who is right?"

The hall fell silent. The audience looked uncomfortable and curious.

"They are right," one woman said.

"We are right," said another.

Most of the audience just looked baffled.

"Look at what is happening ", I continued. "Even here in Sderot, we cannot get a clear answer to the most fundamental of questions. So who is right?"

An endless stream of commentators, security experts and politicians visit Sderot. One advocates targeted assassinations, the other conquest, one says we should talk and the other says we should disengage. When all is said and done, it is clear to all that not one of them has gotten to the root of the real problem and is still incapable – after 12 years of Sderot being on the receiving end of incoming missiles – of relieving the misery of the residents of southern Israel.

Sderot's problem is not military in nature. Clearly, we are stronger than they are. The reason that we cannot deal with murderous attacks on our citizens is not military – it is spiritual. We have lost our belief in the justice of our cause. A mistake of this proportion cannot be rectified with shortcuts. We must return to the point at which we strayed from the path. That point is Oslo. It is there that we declared that this land is not our land. It is there that we recognized the rights of a different sovereign on our country's heartland. It is there that we lost the legitimacy for our existence in Sderot and as a result, the ability to fight against an enemy who does believe in the justice of his cause.

Whose Watchdog are They?: By Moshe Feiglin

I received this in the mail from Manhigut Yehudit.  Moshe Feiglin tells us about an interview that he gave to a young journalist.  You can learn a lot about Israeli journalists from this exchange:

24 Cheshvan, 5773
Nov. 9, '12

Translated from the Makor Rishon newspaper

It is morning and my car glides down the mountains of the Shomron into the smog of greater Tel Aviv. Another crazy day of running for the primaries is about to begin. My cell phone rings. A young, determined voice is on the other end.

"Shalom, this is so and so from the news website, ynet."

"Shalom."

"I am writing an article about donations to the candidates in the primaries. I wanted you to confirm a certain fact. "

"Go ahead."

"I see that you received a donation from a woman by the name of Nitzah Kahane."

"OK."

"Is it true that Nitzah Kahane is the daughter in law of the late Rabbi Kahane?"

Maybe I hadn't yet completely awakened. Perhaps I was suffering from lack of sleep and loads of pressure during the campaign - but that question peeled a thick layer of politically correct right off my psyche.

"Oh," I answered the young reporter. "You probably want to show your readers that women support Feiglin."

"No", the man dryly answered.

"No? Then perhaps you would like to show your readers that a woman donating to Moshe Feiglin's campaign is also an academician whose scientific articles are published in the most prestigious journals in the world. "

"No," the young voice answered.

"Oh," I continued. "Perhaps your scoop is that a woman who is a famous academician, a mother of ten, grandmother of fifteen, who manages to synthesize running a beautiful family, a glorious academic career and is involved in the community and Israeli society in an unprecedented manner donated to Moshe Feiglin?"

"No," the reporter stood his ground.

"And after you hear all of this? Don't you feel just a wee bit loathsome?" I asked with disdain.

"No".

"OK," I finished the conversation. "I authorize that Professor Nitzah Kahane is the daughter in law of Rabbi Meir Kahane, may G-d avenge his blood, who was murdered 22 years ago in the US."

"Thank you," said the young voice in a professional tone. "That is all I needed."
 

Videos From the "Yerushalmi Institute" Convention

I blogged about this not too long ago. Now you can be there:

Palestinian Talmud Enthusiasts Convene

Last Thursday the "Yerushalmi Institute" presented an evening of lectures devoted to the redeeming of captives. I cannot claim to be a Yerushalmi enthusiast, since I think that the only Yerushalmi tractate I ever learned was Sheqalim. However, I am a wannabe.

The evening was quite interesting and I regret that I did not take notes.

The first speaker was Rabbi David Bar Chaim:

Rabbi Bar Chaim's remarks are more or less summarized here and here.

Next up was Professor Eliav Shochatman who mentioned a variety of sources dealing with the subject:

Moshe Feiglin also spoke, saying that we need to look to the written Torah in order to deal with problems related to running a Jewish State:

Rabbi Eliyahu Zini, the Rabbi of the Technion, was fascinating, showing the differences between the Bavli and the Yerushalmi when dealing with the same matters:

Last up was Rabbi Ratzon Arusi, who explained the issues from the eyes of a posek:

For me, this evening of "Torat Eretz Yisrael" was a breath of fresh air in the midst of the ongoing atmosphere of turmoil and incitement.

Moshe Feiglin: Katzav Not Guilty of Rape

It seems that a significant number of Israelis are not convinced that the conviction of former Israeli President Moshe Katzav is justified. In addition to the people I mentioned previously we have the leader of the Likud's Manhigut Yehudit faction Moshe Feiglin:

משה קצב אשם במה שאיש לא העז להאשימו, וזכאי לחלוטין מן העברות המרכזיות שבית המשפט הטיח בו. הטרדה ברמה כזו או אחרת – אולי, ואם זה נכון, זה חמור ומתועב מאוד מאוד, אבל אונס - ודאי שלא

A rough translation:

Moshe Katzav is guilty of what nobody dared accusing him of, and is totally innocent of the main crimes that the court convicted him of. Harassment on one level or another - perhaps, if it is true, is serious and is very,very abominable - but (of) rape, (he is) certainly not(guilty).

Feiglin to Announce He is Leaving Likud

That's the headline from Israel National News:

Moshe Feiglin, head of the Manhigut Yehudit oppositional faction within the Likud party, has decided to leave the Likud along with his movement, Makor Rishon reported Friday.

Feiglin has called a meeting of the central activists in Manhigut Yehudit for Sunday, in which he intends to announce his decision. He will recommend that the movement seek its political home outside Likud. On the record, Feiglin would only tell Makor Rishon that “we are in a period of internal inquiries that will last about two weeks and we are involving the activists in the dilemmas.”

Feiglin joined the Likud 10 years ago, out of a conviction that the multi-party system does not really work in Israel, and that the only way to seize leadership is through the largest party, Likud. He vied twice for party leadership and failed both times. Feiglin was in the party's 20th slot for the Knesset in the last elections, but legalistic and political maneuvers by Binyamin Netanyahu forced him out of that slot and prevented his entry into the Knesset. It should be noted that Feiglin never seemed to content himself with the goal of getting elected to a Knesset seat, but was intent from the outset on becoming the party's leader.

Personally, I admire Moshe Feiglin. I never joined the Likud, however. I remember that someone brought me the application form, which said something like, "I affirm that I believe in the ideals of the Likud". I could not bring myself to sign such a crock! The Likud, ever since it took power, has consistently proven that it has no ideals!

Special Melave Malkah in Honor of Anti-Evacuation Soldiers

Last night I went to a special Melave Malka. It was in honor of the soldiers that waved the "Shimshon will not evacuate Homesh" sign. These soldiers were sentenced to 20 days in military prison. They finished serving their sentence, and a party was made for them.



Outside the hall where the party was held, a small group of demonstrators from the Labor Party. Their signs say, "On the right and on the left insubordinate people we will not tolerate", "No to insubordinate people rightists and leftists", "When protesting leave the uniform on the side", "We have one army". I guess that means that when Michael Ben Ari becomes Defense Minister they will faithfully obey orders and evacuate Arab villages. ;-)>




Inside the hall a mechitzah separated the men from the women. Cake and soft drinks were served to a crowd that I estimate numbered about 300. There was a pretty decent band and even I, with my two left feet, danced a little bit. I also took some pictures of the event. At a certain point in the evening the organizers stated that the event was closed to the press, and that they requested not to take pictures. I respected their request and even what I photographed inside the hall before they requested I am not publishing.

The first featured speaker was Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba (Hebron). He spoke about the fact that for a Jew, the laws of the Torah supersede any other obligations that he may have. "There is no need to say that if the king decreed to negate a commandment of the Torah that we don't listen to him" (Rambam, Laws of Kings 3:9).

Rabbi Dudi Dudkewitz of Yitzhar talked about two different instances of "refusing orders" in the Torah, and what the results were. If I remember correctly one was when Shaul requested that his servants kill the Priests of Nob. The servants refused. Then Saul commanded Doeg the Edomite to kill the Priests, which he did (see 1 Samuel Chapter 22, 2 Samuel Chapter 21). The second case was when David commanded Yoav to conduct a census. Yoav tried to get out of it, but in the end he did it. In both cases the orders were fulfilled. However, in the first case, where there was a clear cut refusal, the house of Saul was held responsible and not the nation of Israel. In the second case, where Yoav kind of fudged the orders but did not refuse outright, the entire nation of Israel was held responsible and punished (see 1 Chronicles Chapter 21).

One of the soldiers that held up the sign and spent time in prison also spoke. He mentioned that many other soldiers in the unit took part in the act.

The crowd itself was interesting. It was a mix of Kachniks, Chabadniks, and Chardalim (although not of the mamlachti type). Moshe Feiglin was also there.

Feiglin Responds to Obama

Here Moshe Feiglin gives the speech that Netanyahu should have given. Enjoy.