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Moshe Feiglin
Moshe Feiglin, Founder and President
of Manhigut Yehudit, is determined to provide Israel with the
authentic Jewish leadership that it so desperately needs. As
Prime Minister of Israel, he will lead the nation to its Jewish
destiny with authentic Jewish values and concepts.
Roots in the Land of
Israel
The Feiglin family’s roots were planted in the Land of
Israel during the “First Aliyah.” In 1889, Moshe Feiglin’s
ancestors immigrated to Israel in order to fulfill the Torah
commandment to live in the Land. The Feiglins were among the
pioneers who established the first settlements in Israel’s north
– Mishmar Hayarden, Hadera, Kinneret and more. Moshe Feiglin’s
grandfather, Avraham, was the first child born in Metulah.
First house in Metulah.
Natural Connection
Although the Feiglins who had originally arrived in Israel
as pioneers were Torah observant, not all of their descendants
remained so. By the beginning of the twentieth century, part of
the Feiglin family had become non-observant. Moshe Feiglin was
born into an extended family comprised of all the different
types of Jews that make up Israeli society; observant, secular,
ultra-Orthodox, Left, Right and just about everything in
between.
Moshe as a child in Moshavah Kinneret
Youth
Moshe Feiglin was born in 1962. He grew up in Rehovot, where
he met his wife-to-be Tzippy. Tzippy and her family had made
aliyah to Israel from the United States. Moshe studied in the Or
Etzion high school yeshiva. Although the religious Hesder
army option was popular at the time, he opted to enlist in the
army for the full term of service.Moshe progressed quickly in
the army and became an officer in the engineering corps. He
completed his service after four years, and he and his bride,
Tzippy, moved to Karnei Shomron.
Work
Upon completing his army service, Moshe opened the first
window washing company for high-rise buildings. The company grew
and developed, eventually employing tens of people. At the
beginning of the 90s, Moshe and a partner established a hi-tech
company that developed a unique security product. The company
never took off, though, as it was precisely at that time that
Yitzchak Rabin was elected as prime minister of Israel and
signed the Oslo Accords.
Wake Up Call
Moshe Feiglin immediately understood the ominous
significance of the Oslo Accords and attempted to warn of the
impending danger. The leftist government reacted with derision
to the protests and warnings of the National Camp. The Right’s
ineffectual reaction to the moral and security collapse that
Oslo engendered brought Moshe to the conclusion that he could no
longer continue life as a private person. He left his business
and with his friend Shmuel Sackett, established the Zo Artzeinu
protest movement. With no major organization behind them, with
no budget and coming from total anonymity, Moshe Feiglin and
Shmuel Sackett managed to carry out the largest and most
significant protest that the State of Israel had ever seen. On
the 12th of Av, 5755 (August, ’95), approximately one
hundred thousand demonstrators from all sectors of Israel’s
society took to the streets and blocked more than one hundred
main intersections in Israel. The protest paralyzed the country
and proved that the nation – unlike its leaders – was faithful
to its land and was not interested in the embrace of the terror
organizations.
Headlines following Zo Artzienu protest
Zo Artzeinu was a huge
success and brought Moshe Feiglin into the headlines as a person
with unusual leadership capabilities. Even his opponents
admitted that Feiglin represented a phenomenon never before
witnessed on the Israeli scene.
1996:
Major Factor in Political Turn About
Despite the success of Zo
Artzeinu, Moshe Feiglin did not seek any political gain. He was
immediately arrested, refused the services of defense attorneys
and together with Shmuel Sackett and Rabbi Benny Elon, was put
on trial for sedition. Proceedings against Rabbi Elon were
terminated when he was elected to the Knesset. Feiglin could
have easily chosen the same path. He could have taken advantage
of the tremendous public credit that he had accrued, gotten
himself elected to the Knesset in one of the right wing parties
and elegantly saved his own skin. But Feiglin is a true leader.
“There is no way that I will lead people in a struggle and then
find my own personal escape hatch to avoid the consequences,” he
said and paid the price in full.
Instead of running for
the Knesset in a small party, Zo Artzeinu used its deep grass
roots support to help the Likud’s Binyamin Netanyahu win the
elections against Shimon Peres. Zo Artzeinu volunteers manned
the intersections throughout Israel, handing out Netanyahu
leaflets in an all out effort to bring the Right into power. The
hard work of the Jewish majority public tipped the scales and
Netanyahu narrowly won the elections. Ironically though,
Feiglin’s sedition trial continued throughout the years of the
Likud’s rule. Instead of sitting in the Knesset, Moshe sat in
the courtrooms. He was ultimately sentenced to six months of
community service.
Writer
During those years, Moshe Feiglin wrote his first
book, “Where there are no Men.” The book was published in
Hebrew, English and Russian. Moshe’s articles began to appear in
the media. The Jewish majority public began to integrate his
opinions and outlook into its own world view and Moshe became a
sought-after speaker throughout the world.
 
Moshe Feiglin’s second
book, “The War of Dreams,” is 530 pages of selections of
the hundreds of articles that he has written. The articles span
an eight year period – from 1997 to the Disengagement in 2005.
Feiglin’s impressive prescience is apparent in the book. In his
articles, he concluded that the Hizbollah would shoot missiles
at Haifa three years before it actually happened and predicted
that the US army would become hopelessly embroiled in Iraq,
explaining precisely why – immediately after 9/11. When
everybody eulogized the Likud as a party of the past, Moshe
explained why it would quickly recover, convincing both his
supporters and opponents that his analyses are to be taken
seriously.
Jewish Leadership
When Netanyahu warmly shook
Arafat’s hand and announced that he had found a friend, he
effectively eliminated the opposition to Oslo. It was at that
point that the National Camp – as the Left before it -- accepted
the justice of the Arab claims. When the Right was dragged by
Netanyahu into Oslo, it was no longer capable of establishing an
alternative. The public got used to the fact that when it voted
Left, it got Left and when it voted Right, it got double Left.
Naturally, deep despair followed.
Although a number of
right wing parties attempted to convince Moshe Feiglin to join
their ranks, he refused. He knew that only the party that
represents the main sector of Israeli society – the Likud – can
possibly rectify the situation. After the Likud leadership
attached itself to Arafat, Feiglin understood that just helping
the Likud to get elected accomplishes nothing. The Likud,
currently captive to Leftist ideology, must have a leader who
will express its latent Jewish identity. He joined the Likud and
immediately announced that he intended to lead it.
In 1999 Netanyahu lost
to the Labor’s Ehud Barak. The Likud seemed to be a dead-end
party. But it was precisely then that Feiglin began his campaign
to convince the public to join the Likud in an effort to
establish authentic Jewish leadership for Israel. Thousands –
about half of whom were settlers in Yesha -- complied and signed
up.
In 2003, Moshe Feiglin
participated in the Likud primaries for the first time. He ran
against Netanyahu and Sharon and got just 3% of the vote. Of
course, his candidacy then was just symbolic. But he had proven
that he was seriously in the race.
In 2006 the Likud held
primaries once again. There were six candidates beside Feiglin:
Netanyahu, Silvan Shalom, Israel Katz, Uzi Landau, Shaul Mofaz
and Limor Linat.
This time, Feiglin’s
candidacy was not symbolic at all. As soon as the first polls
showed Feiglin bypassing Livnat, she pulled out of the race.
When Feiglin passed then Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz in the
polls, he didn’t suffice with reneging on his candidacy; he left
the Likud and joined the Kadima party. When Feiglin passed Uzi
Landau in the polls, Landau left the race and supported Bibi.
Feiglin eventually won third place in the primaries with 13% of
the Likud votes. It was the surprise of the primaries. Despite
the fact that all the other candidates had been ministers and
Knesset members, Moshe reached third place without ever having
been in the Knesset. Many Likud members desperately seek
authentic Jewish leadership. In the polling booth, they voted
Feiglin.
Future
”Moshe
Feiglin intends to provide Israel with authentic Jewish
leadership. From the leadership position of the Likud, his goal
is to create a National umbrella party with the Likud at the
helm.
“When I will lead the
Likud,” he explains, “I will establish the ‘Jewish Israel’
umbrella party. Who will vote for the National Union when
Feiglin is at the head of the Likud? Who will vote for the NRP?
How many voters will stay with Lieberman? How many people will
come home from Shas? When we establish the National bloc with
the Likud at the head, there will be no choice but to join us.
It will be the greatest victory in the history of the Knesset!
Family Man
Moshe Feiglin is a family man. He
and his wife Tzippy have five children. His oldest daughter is
married, lives in the settlement of Einav and has turned her
father into the youngest grandfather in Israeli politics.
Moshe’s day begins
before dawn when he rises for prayers, Torah study and mountain
biking in the Shomron mountains. Between his frequent speaking
engagements and meetings, he still finds time to write, answer
the many letters that he receives and of course – to spend time
with his wife and children.
Email: mfeiglin@manhigut.org
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