Op-ed: Bennett and Shaked appear to be the fulfillment of the Zionist dream – modern, nationalistic and stately. But this facade crumbles when Bezalel Smotrich and Moti Yogev come out of the woodwork.
In left-wing circles there is a common belief that right-wing supporters are usually ignorant, lack a basic understanding of how the world works, believe in God and in the State of Israel’s endless power, and hate Arabs. In short, as someone once said, “Mezuzah-kissers and grave prostraters.”
Among the right-wing circles in Israel there is a common belief that left wing supporters are arrogant and condescending, Arab lovers who don’t understand that Arabs only understand force, delusional dreamers of peace, professors and the likes, who don’t believe in God and eat vermin and carrion. In short, as someone once said, “detached.”
The historical facts cannot confuse either group: The right wing is the only one to return homeland territories, with and without the quotation marks, and evacuate by force thousands of proud Jewish settlers from these territories. The left is the one that conquered the land of Israel, imposed the military regime over the Arabs and laid the cornerstone for the settlements.
In August of 2015, one could say and write that neither the right nor the left control Israel’s diplomacy, the handling of social issues and the country’s security. Instead, these issues are all controled by the “National-religious-Zionist camp.” And in other words: A hybrid made of the religious Naftali Bennett and the secular Ayelet Shaked, both of whom many consider to be the fulfillment of the Zionist dream – contemporary, modern, nationalistic, stately, and put on, as necessary, both secular and religious masks.
It’s a fact that many of those evacuated from Gush Katif and Yamit – who follow them today – shouted, protested, cried, but eventually relented and left. The Kingdom had spoken, and they obeyed the order.
Bayit Yehudi currently has eight members of Knesset and three ministers, and they are the ones that largely determine what our life would look like in the future.
In a shop that poses as a convenience store, theoretically, we could each find something to buy. A kind of supermarket that on its shelves, again in theory, any needy person can select what they need. Both the left and the right tried to present themselves in this manner, but they weren’t always successful (the right had more success than the left).
The duo Bennett-Shaked must have found the right formula, except that sometimes there are those that cramp their style. Bezalel Smotrich and Moti Yogev, for example, who expose the true face of Bayit Yehudi and the fact it is an extremist right wing party.
In such cases, Bennett-Shaked try to make the public think this was an accidental “conflagration,” the “atypical” instance that doesn’t represent their opinions, and at times they even try to “fix” what their partners have broken.
There’s no hiding the truth: Bennett and Shaked – the secular woman with the facade of a girl pretending to be moderate while in reality she’s very extreme, and the religious high-tech guy who pretends to be moderate and sometimes even sounds sane and dovish, like he understands the international and moral reality – are the Zehava Galon behind which Bezalel Smotrich is hiding – likely in an effort to garner more votes for the next elections.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying, in vain, to tear the mask off their face, and will probably continue being unsuccessful, as it seems the two have found the right formula to get the hearts of the voters on the right. They failed to climb higher in the last elections only because of Netanyahu’s plea for help over the Arabs that are going in droves to the polls.
The truth is, in the past elections, the right wing grew stronger on the expense of the right wing.
This is, therefore, a political camp that acts as if it won 30 seats in the last elections, while the Likud was the one that only got eight seats – as political analyst Hanan Kristal said this weekend – and not the other way around.
Indeed, the Bayit Yehudi suffered a serious blow in the last elections, but it appears it is leading the government nevertheless. This is its success, but also the risk the Israeli government is taking by falling in line with Bennett-Shaked. Because this duo says in contemporary words what Mapai and Labor Unity were selling to previous generations: The Land of Israel, settlements, military heroes, fighting for our survival.
Success, at the moment, is theirs.
As reported by Ynetnews