FOREWORD

by the Editors, Israel Future Government Organization (IFG)
(http://ifg-ie.org/archives/oldindex.html)

A DREADFUL FEELING IS SWEEPING THROUGH ISRAEL - that the Jewish State is heading toward catastrophe. A Bar-Ilan University study of 6,196 Israelis between the ages of 11 and 15 from a variety of religious and ethnic groups indicates that 40% worry that the State faces the threat of destruction. Meanwhile, eminent Israelis believe that the government itself has been contributing to this precarious state of affairs.

All is not bleak, however. In a referendum of his own Likud Party, not only did an overwhelming majority oppose Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza - a preliminary to withdrawing from Judea and Samaria - but by so doing they all opposed the President of the United States who had publicly supported Sharon's plan!

Nevertheless, in violation of his pledge to abide by the Likud referendum, indeed, in an act described as that of a dictator, Mr. Sharon fired two of his opposing cabinet ministers to obtain a cabinet majority for his illegal as well as immoral plan to remove every Jew from Gaza, that is, to remove them from their homes and synagogues, their schools and yeshivas, their farms and factories, and to turn over this treasure of three generations to Arab terrorists!

Contrary to his once heroic reputation, Mr. Sharon's plan of retreating under fire and uprooting countless Jews from Judea, Samaria, and Gaza means defeatism, which can only lead to the demise of Israel which so many fear. Unfortunately, there is no person or party or organization in Israel that has the wherewithal to rally the people around a constructive plan, one that can not only reverse Israel's withdrawal to its indefensible 1949 borders, but can also reform Israel's government so as to make it truly representative of the abiding beliefs and values of the Jewish people.

We therefore request your help. We urge you to study the plan outlined below and get involved in our effort to prevent Israel's demise. We are compiling a mailing list of people who endorse our plan. Please see the end of this e-mail for instructions on how you can get on this mailing list and receive future releases concerning our plan to save Israel.

The plan has been designed by the American-born, internationally known political scientist, Professor Paul Eidelberg (Ph.D. University of Chicago), who has lived and taught in Israel for 28 years. We urge all lovers of Israel to pause ten minutes to read Eidelberg's plan, for at stake is the security of ALL Jews now threatened by the explosion of anti-Semitism in America, indeed, throughout the world.

Eidelberg contends - and he has an abundance of evidence to prove - that the Jewish state is no longer viable, indeed, is evaporating. (1) Almost 50% of the births in Israel are non-Jewish. (2) The government's lax immigration law has diminished the Jewish majority of the State by almost 10% in the last two decades. (3) The government does not enforce the Citizenship Law against Israel's Arab citizens who aid or commit terrorist acts against the State. (4) Israel's ultra-liberal Supreme Court does not uphold the indictment of Arab Knesset Members who have incited Israeli Arabs to emulate Hezbullah. (5) The same Court has refused to uphold a law which prohibits any party that rejects the Jewish character of the State. (6) The Knesset consists of so many parties that it is virtually impotent. (7) Several of these parties - each with its own agenda - must coalesce to form a government, in consequence of which the government is incapable of pursuing a coherent and resolute national strategy - which prompts the Prime Minister to violate the law by ignoring his cabinet on controversial issues.

The conclusion is obvious: Israel has a dysfunctional system of government, a government in dire need of systemic reform. Vested interests, in particular the existing political parties, will block any attempt by non-parliamentary groups to change the political system. These groups therefore need the support of a powerful organization outside of Israel! Eidelberg has developed a comprehensive program for such an organization which, together with a parallel organization in Israel, would promote the ideological foundations, institutional reforms, and public policies of a future government of Israel. This dual-organization would in effect constitute a "shadow government" operating partly in exile and partly in Israel, until it becomes wholly integrated in Eretz Yisrael.

We ask that you come to our website - http://ifg-ie.org - and Join This Initiative. We look forward to working with you to secure and enhance the future of the Jewish state and the Jewish people.

Here is Professor Eidelberg's plan.

a. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has not only failed to protect the lives of his fellow-citizens. Acting as a virtual dictator, he has emasculated his cabinet and, in defiance of the heads of Israel's military and intelligence services, is determined to uproot Jews from their homes in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza - thus violating Israel's Basic Law: Human Freedom and Dignity.

b. Members of the Knesset, hence those who become cabinet ministers, are not personally elected by, or individually accountable to, the voters in multi-district elections - the practice of 74 out of 75 democracies. The government, consisting of party leaders with safe seats, controls the Knesset and can ignore public opinion with impunity. (No Likud- or Labor-led government has ever been toppled by a Knesset vote of no confidence.)

c. The Supreme Court, as admitted by eminent Israelis across the political spectrum, is a self-perpetuating oligarchy that scorns the abiding beliefs and values of the Jewish People.

d. Current Knesset Speaker Reuben Rivlin has admitted that Israel is governed not by the rule of law but by a "gang of law." (No wonder! Israel lacks a Constitution, which was prescribed in its 1948 Declaration of Independence.)

2. Despite Israel's democratic veneer, the people cannot reform the system by ordinary political means; and to expect reform to originate from within the government is like asking chickens to vote for Colonel Sanders. So, what is to be done to save Israel from its own political and judicial institutions?

2. I have lived and taught in Israel almost three decades. I have written several books and countless articles on Israel's institutions, its policies, and even on the mentality its ruling elites; and I have also spoken to various Israeli prime ministers and cabinet ministers. I see no statesman on the horizon, and if one should appear he would be thwarted by Israel's grotesque political system. Hence I see no future for Judaism in Israel given its present governmental system. But without Israel, how many Jews will lose faith in Israel Eternal?

3. The two most pro-Israel organizations in the U.S. are Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI) and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). The heads of both KNOW that despite all their heroic efforts during the past three decades, they have had NO impact on the territorial retreat and defeatist policies of Israeli governments. So what, in brief, do these fine organizations accomplish? First, they educate many people in the USA. Second, they enlighten some congressmen. What's missing? These Zionist organizations - all honor to them - never engage in significant critique of Israel's regime, its system of governance. They focus on the flaws of Israel's foreign policies. They are silent about Israel's flawed political and judicial institutions. They know these institutions are defective, but to criticize them would be to "interfere" in Israel's domestic affairs - or so they would have us believe. This is nonsense, since AFSI and the ZOA have been criticizing Israeli governments throughout the past three decades.

4. Serious political scientists know that regime questions precede policy questions, that the latter are the consequence of the former. I have lectured before scores of Anglo-American and Russian audiences which, after hearing my arguments and evidence, fully agree that it's the SYSTEM, the SYSTEM, the SYSTEM that is ruining Israel. It's this system that entrenches Israel's flawed politicians in power and perpetuates their suicidal policies. The 1993 Oslo Agreement was foisted on the people without Knesset or public debate! And the Supreme Court has circumvented a petition by eminent Israelis challenging the legality of that agreement. This alone demonstrates the need for systemic reform.

5. To overhaul Israel's system of government, our New York organization will be integrated with a parallel organization in Jerusalem. Given electronic modes of communication, coordination of activities and transmission of articles and policy papers present no problem.

6. What shall we call this New York-based organization? Suppose it's called "Israel's Future Government - In Exile." By IFG-In Exile I do not mean a "Government in Exile," but the form of Israel's future Government, which is now in exile! (No equivalent to a French or Polish government in exile is intended.) Calling it "Israel's Future Government-in Exile" means that we are preparing, in exile, but in coordination with a parallel organization in Israel, the future ideological foundations, institutional reforms, and public policies for what will eventually become the Government of Israel in Eretz Yisrael.

7. The impetus for the formation of that parallel organization in Israel will actually depend on the establishment of IFG-In Exile. Only such an organization can unite Israel's disparate non-parliamentary Zionist groups and provide the inspiration and support required to mold these groups into a nationalist camp or a Jewish National Movement. The JNM (see below) will initiate a massive grass roots movement having as its goal the reconstruction of the State of Israel on solid Jewish, democratic foundations.

8. The JNM will metamorphose into a Constitutional Party. Like no other party in Israel's history, the candidates of this party will be professionals familiar with the various sectors of public life. The citizens of Israel would know, for the first time, who and what they are voting for.

9. Given the political discontent and anarchy now existing in Israel, and recalling how the "Dash" reform party won 15 Knesset seats in 1977 under far less perilous circumstances, our Constitutional Party could readily win a decisive number of seats in the Knesset, more than enough to place on the public agenda a Constitution as called for in Israel's Declaration of Independence. (IFG-In Exile will have a veritable library of policy papers and books with which to equip this Constitutional Party and educate the public - a public longing for fundamental institutional reform.)

10. Members of IFG-In Exile do not claim to represent the people of Israel from a legal point of view. But we do claim to represent the people of Israel in terms of their Jewish heritage and aspirations on the one hand, and their many grievances against the existing government on the other - which grievances cannot be remedied under Israel's existing political system. Therein is the justification of our projected organization.

11. Of course, there will be Jews in Israel who will laugh at this enterprise. Some may even be angered. But there will be many others who will be SHOCKED - and this is one of the organization's objectives. Jews in Israel must draw the logical conclusion of their own disgust with the Knesset: that their government does not represent them, indeed, is their enemy! The necessity of our proposed organization logically follows.

10. We must confront the fact that there is NO force in the Knesset or in Israeli society that has the wherewithal to prevent Israel's further retreat and ultimate demise. We must do something now - BEFORE the uprooting of Jews takes place.

a. Generalissimo Sharon has declared: "By the end of 2005, not one Jew will remain in Gaza." This uprooting of 8,000 Jews will be followed by the uprooting of countless more in Judea and Samaria. Many of these Jews, especially Americans, will leave Israel. This is reason enough to establish IFG-In Exile, which can tap the talents of these exiled American Jews.

b. I am ready to work full time without a salary to make IFG a reality.

11. Obviously, IFG-In Exile will require a first-rate funding network, not only to sustain its own operations, but to assist the Jewish National Movement in Israel. A fully staffed IFG will consist of an experienced executive director; two lawyers (one general, the other constitutional); two political scientists (one general, the other an expert in electoral systems); an economist; a businessman; a rabbi with a degree preferably in the sciences; a public relations expert; a communications specialist; a webmaster; writers in various fields; linguists; a full-time secretary; and many volunteers. (Obviously IFG can start with a more modest staff.)

12. IFG-In Exile will have an executive committee consisting, say, of nine members, five of which should be Israelis. (Some will be dual citizens.) Roughly half of IFG policy committees should be chaired by Israelis.

13. IFG will seek endorsements by prominent Americans and Israelis.

The Jewish National Movement will address the urgent need of Jewish national unity and security and will do so by means of clearly defined, goal-directed Jewish leadership.

A. GENERAL AIMS OF THE JNM

1. To establish a union of non-parliamentary groups unaffiliated with any political party.

2. To support and coordinate the activities of these groups in such a way as to enable each to pursue its own distinctive function more effectively and yet magnify their collective influence on Jewish affairs in Israel and in the Diaspora. (It must be emphasized that a Jewish National Movement requires the overcoming of the organizational egotism that has fragmented and enfeebled the so-called Right in Israel.)

3. To provide the people of Israel with an alternative to Oslo, one that reasserts Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.

4. To inform the people of Israel of the undemocratic, unJewish, and corrupt nature of Israel's political system.

5. To promote an alternative system of government whose paramount principle is the Jewish essence of the State, to which all other principles are subordinate.

B. STRUCTURE: THE JNM WILL

1. Establish a national headquarters in Jerusalem to facilitate uninterrupted cooperation with the IFG-IE, and uninterrupted cooperation between non-parliamentary organizations in Israel.

2. Appoint an executive committee to oversee operations.

3. Recruit experts in various public and private sectors to formulate, in cooperation with the IFG-IE, a comprehensive national program amenable to religious and nationalist oriented Jews.

4. Establish a funding network in Israel that will allow each organization to function within the framework of the Movement, share its resources, minimize unnecessary duplication, and present to the world at large the voice of a United Israel.

5. Establish branches around the country, especially near universities. (These branches will be the generators of a massive grassroots movement whose goal is to rally public support for a Constitutional Party.)

6. Form a lecture bureau consisting of scholars, rabbis, and retired businessmen. (Urgently needed is bold Jewish education, using Jewish concepts to analyze the various ideas and political forces that fragment the Jewish People and endanger Israel's well-being).

7. Ensure the Jewish People everywhere access to information regarding Israel's security and well-being by supporting a politically independent media network analogous to Voice of America or Radio Free Europe.

8. Form action teams with specific objectives such as public relations, exposure of governmental ineptitude, fearless investigation and publication of names and activities of all enemies of the Jewish People - their resources, agents, networks, and affiliates regardless of their race, national origin, positions of power, and social or economic connections.

9. Form standing committees equivalent to those of the IFG - committees that parallel major government ministries. (The JNM should see itself as an incipient "shadow government.")

10. Establish an Institute of Statesmanship and Torah Philosophy to develop high caliber Jewish leadership that will inspire the Jewish People.

C. RESOLUTIONS: THE JNM

1. Demands that the Government (a) abrogate Oslo; (b) destroy, in one swift blow, the Palestinian Authority and its terrorist network; in the process of destroying the PA, capture Arafat and, in the name of justice, put him on trial as a war criminal, revealing in minute detail his crimes against the Jewish people, indeed, against humanity, both before and after Oslo; (d) close down all institutions and media that advocate incitement; (e) establish a Commission of National Inquiry to ascertain the culpability of those responsible for Oslo and its implementation.

2. Demands that the Government assert Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.

3. Calls on the Government to (a) pass a Homestead Act to facilitate Jewish settlement of Judea, Samaria, Gaza, and the Golan Heights; (b) invite foreign capital to build model cities in these areas; move certain ministries to eastern Jerusalem.

4. In pursuance of the 1952 Citizenship Law, urges the Minister of Interior to revoke the citizenship of all Arabs who have committed acts of violence against the Jewish state.

5. Demands enforcement of Basic Law: The Knesset, which bars any party that negates the Jewish character of the State.

6. Demands that those Arab Knesset members who have committed acts of sedition or incitement be indicted, expelled from the Knesset, and deported.

7. Advocates a market economy based on Jewish ethics to avoid the greed of capitalism and the egalitarian envy of socialism. Employee Stock Ownership Plans should be used wherever expedient.

8. Advocates a bi-cameral parliament. The upper branch, the Senate, will be limited to Jews and will have exclusive law-making powers. The lower branch, the House of Representatives, will exercise the power of administrative oversight (a power lacking in the present Knesset). Members of both branches will be individually accountable to the voters in regional elections. (For details, see the website of the Foundation for Constitutional Democracy: http.//www.foundation1.org/)

9. Advocates a Presidential system to replace multi-party cabinet government which is inept, divisive, and incapable of pursuing coherent and resolute national policies. The Presidency and the heads of all executive offices will be limited to Jews.

10. Advocates nomination of Supreme Court judges by the President (with the advice of a council learned in Jewish and secular law), subject to confirmation by the Senate.

11. Insists that the Supreme Court adhere to the Foundations of Law Act 1980, such that Jewish law will be "first among equals" vis-a-vis other legal systems used by the judiciary.

12. Advocates a law that would enable a private citizen who suffers injury from the act of any public official to sue the official for compensatory and punitive damages.

13. Advocates legislation that (a) no citizen may be arrested without charge nor be imprisoned without trial longer than two weeks; (b) no person convicted of a felony may be released from jail prior to the termination of his sentence without the approval of a parole board consisting of qualified private citizens. This will preclude the release of terrorists.

14. Insists that the IDF be depoliticized by legislation prohibiting high-ranking officers from holding any elective national office for five years after their discharge.

15. Recognizes that, given the existence of weapons of mass destruction, a small state like Israel must pursue a policy of pre-emption.

16. Demands that the Soldiers Code of Ethics be revised to emphasize "Judaism," "Zionism," and "Eretz Israel."

17. Urges amendment of the "grandfather clause" of the Law of Return, which has enabled hundreds of thousands of gentiles to enter Israel.

18. Advocates enfranchisement of Israelis abroad.

19. Demands that the government recall the Israeli ambasador from, and refrain from seeking diplomatic relations with, any state whose governmenmt fosters hatred of Jews.

20. Demands that the government cease appeasing the United States. This not only demeans Israel and Jews in the Diaspora, but it also perpetuates Washington's hypocritical friendship with the Jewish state. Acccordingly, Israel's government must (a) demand the immediate release of its agent, Jonathan Pollard; (b) stop relying on the U.S. to play the role of the anything but "honest broker" in Israel-Arab affairs; reveal the extent to which the U.S. is dependent on Israeli science, high-tech industries, medical discoveries, and intelligence services; (d) notify the U.S. that Israel ends in stages its acceptance of military and economic assistance; (e) resume development and production of an Israeli fighter aircraft by reducing taxes on the one hand, and eliminating outrageous tax-evasion on the other; (f) notify the U.S. to move its embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem or have none at all.

The Alter of Kelm said, "Don't ask whether a thing is possible; ask only if it is necessary."

 
Prof Paul Eidelberg is President of the Foundation For Constitutional Democracy. He can be reached by mail at 244 Madison Avenue, Suite 427, New York, NY 10016, Tel: 212-372-3752, and by email at Constitution@usa.net

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