But a distrubing trend remains apparent in Israel. A quick glance at the front page of today's Jerusalem Post tells the story of hypocrisy instead of Zionism.
First, the analysis of the election itself reveals yet another bothersome element of Shinui's raison d'etre. For the past two months, Shinui has been telling anyone who would listen that their MK's would only support a "non-political" candidate. When such an option did not surface, however, they were faced with a choice between two candidates from the political arena. One, Shimon Peres, is a leading member of the Israeli power elite. He is the arch politician in today's Israel. He has served, schemed, maneuvered, conspired, and constantly lost. He has divided the people throughout his public life, sought to rend the national fabric by alienating half the population, and been implicated in political intrigue, and even murder.
The second candidate, Moshe Katzav, served honourably under three Likud prime ministers, holding various cabinet positions, and representing his constituency admirably. He came to Israel as a young immigrant, grew up in a development town, championed the rights of the underprivileged, and was thrust forward as his hometown hero by his neighbours. He embodies the fulfillment of the Zionist Adventure.
Although no one knows for sure, it seems from the reports that Shinui apparently opted to vote 5-1 for the more political of the two candidates. So much for Tommy Lapid's high minded rhetoric. It should be no surprise, though, if that is how Shinui voted. After all, the entire country knows of Shinui's utter hatred for anything resembling Judaism, and Moshe Katzav is a true representative of our people.
What is more surprising, though, is an analysis piece further down the page by Amotz Asa-El. I generally have great respect for the balanced view Asa-El takes on many issues in Israeli life. While I don't always agree with him, I find his positions generally well thought-out, and consider him one of the saner voices in the Israeli media.
It was with great disappointment, therefore, that I read his headline, "The End of Zionism". In his piece, Asa-El proceeds to waste no opportunity to lambaste the Haredi parties for turning their back on Peres. Peres, he intones, "was never a secularist crusader", and Asa-El considers the apparent votes of the Haredi parties "a spit in the face" and "a stab in the back" to the Barak government, who had given them their draft deferrals (still not a certainty) and the ouster of Yossi Sarid from the cabinet (which is only temporary).
What Asa-El fails to point out is that Peres is the driving force behind the abandonment of Judea and Samaria, with all the history and holy places those areas contain. The Haredim are not interested in maintaining control over Ramat Aviv or the fleshpots of Dizengoff. They are, however, most certainly interested in being able to pray at Machpela, Joseph's Tomb, and the Temple Mount, and to visit the 80-odd other holy places in Judea and Samaria.
Peres fully supports the intellectual "new history" trend that is rampant in Israeli high schools and universities, and is causing such a havoc with the education of the next generation of Israelis. Peres is the leading post-Zionist politician in Israel, and he is destroying this country.
And far from unifying the people of Israel, as the President is supposed to do, Peres is the man who once told an American immigrant to Israel to "go back where you came from" simply because this American immigrant had the nerve to show up at an anti-government rally in 1995.
And Asa-El calls this man a Zionist?
Later in the article, Asa-El correctly asserts that Peres contributed to srengthening Israel by developing its nuclear capabilities, defeating hyper-inflation, and developing its aerospace industry. But a strong economy, expertise in science, and robust industry will mean nothing if the social fabric of the nation rends this country apart.
"The Zionist idea," intones Asa-El, "was first and foremost about ending the Ghetto Jew's dependence on others for his livelihood and security." And he reminds us that the Haredim who voted Peres down never served in the army, nor contributed to the country's defense.
Perhaps one should remind Asa-El that Peres also never served in the army. And in case no one noticed, there is a ghetto in Israel much broader and much more problematic than Meah Shearim. The development towns and low-income neighbourhoods of Tel Aviv are teeming with frustrated Israelis, sfardim, ashkenazim, recent and veteran immigrants. Shimon Peres and his labour party helped create that ghetto. Hundreds of Yemenite babies disappeared while Peres's friends were in power. Immigrant shanty towns were left to rot, or metamorphose into "development" towns for low income and under-educated Israelis, and Peres and his friends ignored them. In fact, they sat and laughed in 1999 when, during a Labour election rally, sfardim and the under-privileged were referred to as "riff-raff".
This is the second column by Asa-El in two weeks railing against the Haredi influence in Israel. Perhaps he should realize that while Meah Shearim is not the ideal Zionist neighbourhood, no one can force a community to improve its living standards when it doesn't want to. Perhaps, instead of concentrating on Zionising Meah Shearim against their will, the government and media can concentrate on raising the standards of living of those who are crying out for such help.
Shimon Peres would have meant more of the same. He is not representative of the Zionist Idea that Asa-El describes. Rather, Moshe Katzav, who can make a difference in the under-privileged communities of Israel, who can help end the ghetto lifestyle of these communities who so want an end to their suffering, is the true Zionist candidate.
It's ironic, but in the end, it was the Haredi politicians who were more Zionist than the crusaders from Shinui. In order for Zionism to trult succeed, the elites, whose interests lean more towards assimilation than toward saving Jews and Judaism from the rest of the world, must be defeated. The Moshe Katzavs of Israel, the "riff-raff" of the shuk, must be able to stand up and be counted. They must be enabled to rise above the directionless "Zionism" that is the creed of Peres and the elites, and instill a creative, idea-based and emotion-founded Zionism that will once again make Israel the home of all Jews.
Mr. Asa-El, together with Shinui, should stop concentrating so much on anti-Haredi harangues, and begin again to concentrate on the problems that want to be solved in this country, on the people who really want the help.
In the meantime, Mr. Katzav, G-dspeed. May you climb from strength to strength and lead this nation out of the morass in which it currently finds itself. Our hopes and dreams are with you and your Zionist vision.
Copyright 2000. Yehuda Poch is a writer living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
