HERBERT ZWEIBON

Kadima’s days are numbered. But if new elections are to produce only a musical chairs of failed politicians, there will be no coming to grips with festering problems that endanger the cohesion and viability of the state. As Islamic expert Moshe Sharon points out in these pages, a clean broom to sweep out the stables is needed, new leadership with the vision, energy and courage to make the profound changes required if the nation is to be restored.

Taking a leaf from the 1994 Republican Contract with America, which promised “to restore bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives” we suggest ten principles such new leaders in Israel might offer as bedrock commitments.

Contract with Israel
1) Restore the technological superiority, capability and fighting spirit of the IDF.
2) Change the process of selection and appointment of justices to all courts, including the Supreme Court.
3) Develop a patriotic curriculum for the schools and eliminate anti-Zionist materials that deny morality and justice to Jewish nationhood.
4) Substitute for the present system of proportional representation direct election of Knesset member on the basis of geographical districts.
5) Ease restrictions limiting media outlets.
6) Require a super majority of the Knesset for territorial concessions.
7) Foster improved relations and understanding between the religious and secular segments of the population.
8) Clarify the separation of powers between the branches of government.
9) Require citizens to make a declaration of loyalty and a pledge of service to the State of Israel --and establish processes to encourage the emigration of those who refuse to do so.
10) Eliminate corruption at all levels of government.

The importance of some of these is obvious, others perhaps less so. The Supreme Court (which is basically self-selecting) has turned itself into a super-legislature, pursuing a universalist agenda wholly out of touch with Judaism or Zionism. Knesset members are accountable only to party leaders pursuing naked self-interest (ministerial “chairs”) in sublime disregard of Israeli voters. In a free society, it is unconscionable that radio station Arutz Sheva should have been harassed for years and finally forced off the air. As for item 9, Israel must come to grips with a huge fifth column (not all of it Arab) that identifies with its enemies.

Perhaps the most important is Item 10. Corruption has become a lethal cancer on the state. The only rational explanation for Ariel Sharon’s abrupt embrace of “disengagement” is that he hoped to stave off indictment on corruption charges. There was triple corruption here: the initial actions of Sharon and his sons, Sharon’s willingness to undermine Israel’s security to benefit his family and the corruption of the Attorney General’s office which, Sharon knew, would give him a free pass if he pursued its leftwing ideology.

The deepest corruption is the dishonesty of the leadership. Who can forget, during the Six Day War, when the Arab states proclaimed great “victories” and the Israeli government soberly reported what actually took place. Now both sides are equally untrustworthy. Ehud Olmert is spinning Israel’s defeat in Lebanon as a victory greater than the Six Day War. Since Oslo, Israeli leaders have engaged in massive deception, feeding the public delusions of peace processes, encouraging them to retreat into the “bubble” that Moshe Sharon describes.

First and foremost, to be honest with themselves and the public. This must be the core commitment of any new leadership that would save Israel.