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Authentic Jewish Leadership For Israel |
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Our Views Districts for a Democratic Israel by: Moshe Feiglin From a radio address on Artuz 7 Maybe now that the Knesset has finally approved the national budget, we can logically analyze why this farce repeats itself every year. The wars over Israel's budget deviate by far from what is acceptable in other democratic countries. The reason for that is that Israel is not really a democracy. A true democracy cannot exist when the public's representatives are not dependent on the voters. In 97% of the world's democracies, including countries the size of Israel, the election method is based on voting districts. The elected official knows his voters and has to work hard to maintain their faith in him. This method strengthens the community framework and delegates authority and responsibility to the local government. What does this have to do with our national budget? Israel's founders the Labor Mapai and its satellites talked about democracy, but they didn't really mean it. The method that they bestowed upon us is centralized and turns the entire country into one large district. This method is unique to Israel. It gives the central government all the power, but no responsibility. Imagine that every district in Israel would know in advance that it would receive a proportionate allocation of the national budget in addition to a percentage of local taxes. Now, the residents of the Bnei Brak district could, for example, decide what portion of their budget they would like to allocate to large families; the residents of Ramat Aviv could decide how much to allocate to human rights parades; the residents of the south could decide how much to allocate to the Negev Law. We have become so accustomed to thinking that we have a "big brother" who is both our mother and our father. We think that every year we have to chirp as loudly as we can just like fledglings in a nest for something that is ours in the first place. The built-in totalitarianism of the Israeli regime has made us believe that we are dependent on the Knesset members. But in truth, they should be dependent on us. District representation is not only possible; it is critical. It also correlates to the basic Jewish approach toward community life (the tribal division, if you will). Division into voting districts is relevant to more than just the budget. It applies to every facet of our national lives. The community should appoint its local police chief; it should decide which streets will be opened and closed to traffic on Shabbat, or if there will be longer school days in the district and at the expense of what. Since most Israelis want to remain Jews, districts will strengthen the Jewish identity of the state and democracy will flourish. The Left a small majority that controls the country by using the centralized method to its benefit will lose its power. That is also the reason that "Big Brothers" like Chief Justice Aharon Barak will do all they can to thwart this proposal. The continued control of the elites depends on Israel's continued centralized democracy. But do not worry. In the end, the nation will triumph. The question is only at what price
Now it's time to hear you!
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