.
This author takes serious issue with a mindset indicated in David Bedein’s report who’s leader poses this question; Is Feiglin a White Ashkenazi Sabra with Protexia?
Please note; this author recognizes and respects David Bedein’s moral integrity as one of perhaps two, possibly three credible journalists in ALL of Israel’s media (and a former Philadelphian, too). The issue is NOT with Bedein’s piece, but with a mindset in the S’fardi sector which gives rise to what Bedein detects.
Yes, Moshe Feiglin is Ashkenazi. And this author is not totally familiar with the leadership structure of Manhigut Yehudit, nor the composition of the some 150 my members of the Likud Central Committee. Nor is this author aware of the existence, as yet, of a factional candidates list — presumably Bedein means a list of candidates for Knesset seats in a future Likud primary vote.
And it seems that if the Sfardi reality is, in fact, as Bedein detects, could there possibly be a lack of HaKaras HaTov amongst S’fardim, or at least those S’fardim in Sderot and in the Southern towns bordering Gaza regarding Moshe Feiglin? Having posed this question, it should be made clear that this author recognizes the severe and life-threatening hardships faced daily by residents of Sderot and the southern communities. Nor should we make light of the horrendous suffering which many S’fardim have endured for decades at the hands of the leftist, socialist, ruling elites which control Israel and who domination Moshe Feiglin is fighting hard against.
Frankly, however, the state and level of danger faced has risen exponentially subsequent to the expulsion of the Jews of Gush Katif and the resultant free reign of Arab terrorists in the locations previously inhabited by Jews and thus in close proximity to Jewish towns bordering Gaza. The continuous Kassam blitzes are DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE to the expulsion.
And so, now I ask this question;
Who has done more for the Sfardi Jews in Sderot and the southern communities bordering Gaza?;
Moshe Feiglin, who has put his life on hold, and on the line, to fight successive regimes and their post-zionist, anti-Jewish, anti-Torah governance and who, in 2005 fought in Gaza alongside it’s 8,000 Jews for months before expulsion or;
The Shas party, and it’s leader — who joined with Labor and Meretz, abstained from votes on the Oslo agreements knowing that their abstentiion facilitated Knesset approval of those horrendous surrenderist “agreements (sic)” made by the regime with Yassir Arafat, and who as recently as two years ago, shunned Uzi Landau and the Likud rebels in their efforts to enact Knesset law enabling a national referendum on expulsion from Gush Katif.
Having followed and been a supporter of Moshe Feiglin from Chutz L’Aretz long before Aliya, in the Zo Artzeinu days through to becoming a one of the first members of Likud via Manhigut Yehudit in 2000, through to tday, it is abundantly clear to this author on which side the pendulum of merit falls — heavily on the side of Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudut.
The question is whether Yosef Q. Israeli has the intellectual tools, the erudition to distinguish who is part of the solution from who is part of the problem. MB
Netanyahu Wins: The Israeli WASP Factor, by David Bedein (Israel National News)
Excerpts;
This reporter spent Likud primary election day in Sderot, a small, working-class town comprised of primarily Sephardic Jewish Israelis. They now live on the new civilian front line of Israel, under daily rocket attacks from Gaza, and facing additional problems of economic depression and wanton neglect by the Israeli government. The state refuses to provide appropriate protection for schools, appropriate repairs of bomb shelters and appropriate military responses focused on population centers in Gaza. It is those centers that host the terrorists and rocket launchers terrorizing the population of Sderot and the Western Negev over the past seven years.
With Moshe Feiglin posters plastered throughout Sderot, and with anger against every aspect of the Israeli establishment in every corner of the city, the question posed to Sderot Likud members was simple: Will you support Feiglin, who is indeed calling for a stronger response to the attacks that are plaguing the city? The answer that was almost universally expressed on the lips of Sderot voters was: “Feiglin is not one of us…. Why did he not put people on his factional candidates list from Israel’s development towns, people who are not Orthodox, not Ashkenazi and not middle class?”
Indications are that people from Sephardic working class towns who could have provided a swing vote for a Feiglin victory felt that Feiglin did not reach out to them and did not speak their language.
In other words, people of Sderot and similar towns identified Moshe Feiglin as an Israeli WASP – a White Ashkenazi Sabra with Protexia. (In Israeli terminology, one who has “pull” with the establishment is said to have protexia.)
The lesson to be learned from this week’s elections is that any future challenger to Likud party leadership must rid himself from any such Israeli-style WASP image. After all, one of the reasons why Netanyahu lost the 2006 Knesset election was that he lost much of the working class Sephardic vote. This shift occurred after the cutbacks Netanyahu initiated in social services, child allowances, pensions and support for handicapped people during his term as Minister of Finance, 2003-2005. He never regained any enthusiastic backing among this key sector of the Israeli electorate.
There was an opportunity for Feiglin to pick up support with the Sephardic working class – and he did not use it.