A quick reading
of the party platform reveals that there is nothing inherently
"Russian" about YBA! Neither is it a party only for new
immigrants. Rather, what YBA stands for is the inclusion of ALL
Israelis, new and veteran, in a society free from discrimination and
favoritism. Many goals listed on the party platform, in fact, are
distinctly "Anglo" in flavor, such as the privatization of
state-owned enterprises and ending the monopoly of the Histadrut.
No! YBA
believes that Israel as a Jewish state, steeped in Jewish tradition and
history, is essential to the survival of the Jewish people. In these
first stages of the ingathering of the exiles (kibbutz galuyot), our first
priority should be the building and maintaining of Jewish unity (Achdut
Yisrael). While YBA respects and values Jewish traditions, it believes
that the best way to encourage new olim, who for some generations were
entirely unaware of their Jewish roots (tinokot she’nishbu), to keep
mitzvot, is to allow them to come to that realization themselves. In fact, the more time these olim spend in Israel, the less
they eat non-kosher meat. YBA believes that peaceful compromises and
incremental solutions are more helpful toward building a universal respect for
Jewish tradition than ideological battles.
First, in the
last elections, YBA won six seats, and was only a few thousand votes short of
seven! Defections, now illegal, as the defectors "ran" on the
YBA ticket, account for the fact that YBA has four seats. Recent
estimates indicate that, were elections held today, YBA would win at least 6-7
seats.
But even with four seats, YBA has
proven itself a responsive and "high achieving" party that took part
in three governments and held important ministries in each. (See also the list
of accomplishments.) YBA is
a party of the National camp: In the next elections, it would go only into a
right-wing coalition or unity government.
One additional point: Small parties are not deeply engrossed in the
internal politics that preoccupy large parties; YBA can make its decisions
unpressured by the “establishment.”
Rabbi Riskin,
chief rabbi of Efrat, once said that YBA's leaders are different than other
politicians: They go to jail first and THEN go to the Knesset!
Natan Sharansky, YBA's party
leader, is recognized throughout the world for his moral heroism in the face
of great persecution. A man who stood up to the KGB is unlikely to be
swayed by the temptations of party politics! Also, he has a proven
record in Israeli government for holding to his principles. (Note: He
was the first minister to resign from Ehud Barak's government, leading to its
downfall.)
YBA has led the movement for tax
reforms, including changes such as eliminating the limits on institutional
investments abroad and preventing double taxation on passive incomes from
abroad. Had YBA not fought for
these reforms, the quality of life of veteran Anglo olim would have been
gravely affected, and new immigration from Western countries severely
curtailed. Also, YBA is
spearheading the law to make Sunday a day off!