Israel Matzav

Shmuel Sackett responds to Yaakov Katz

Last week, I did a post in which Yaakov Katz (Ketzeleh), the head of the National Union party, was quoted as criticizing Moshe Feiglin for facilitating Binyamin Netanyahu's becoming Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, National Union's Yaakov Katz (Ketzelah) used the occasion to attack Moshe Feiglin for his association with the Likud.

National Union chairman MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) said Sunday that the situation now faced by residents of Judea and Samaria, against whom the IDF is preparing to take drastic action to enforce Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's building freeze, is a direct result of the actions and philosophy of Likud activist Moshe Feiglin. "This is the failure of Feiglinism," MK Katz said, adding that Feiglin, who was determined to change the Likud from within, had paved the way for former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to undertake the Gaza disengagement – and was doing the same for Netanyahu.

"Feiglin helped Netanyahu get elected, and the 'good' representatives who are supporting him out of fear that the weak Prime Minister will fall, are enabling Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who is fighting for his political life, to commit crimes against the Jewish people and its spirit. We should not expect anything good to grow from the detritus of the Likud," MK Katz said.

If there's been any reaction from Feiglin, I have not seen it yet.

Now, there's a reaction from Moshe Feiglin - actually from his deputy Shmuel Sackett (pictured). One of my readers who is a representative of Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) forwarded that post to Feiglin, and I got this in response.

Anyway, instead of commenting on your blog, I forwarded your blog entry to Moshe Feiglin and suggested he respond. Moshe is way too busy, but he did send me the following response from Shmuel Sackett, who personally approved of me publicizing it, as long as it's reproduced verbatim.

Here's Sackett's full reply:

Immediately after this year’s Knesset elections (just 10 months ago), President Shimon Peres met with EVERY party in the Knesset and asked them one question:

“Who, if anybody, should I give the first chance to form a government?”

The National Union met with President Peres and recommended that Bibi Netanyahu be given the chance to form a government.

Allow me to repeat that – in different words:

Ketzale and the members of his NU party: Ariel, Eldad and Ben-Ari, asked that BIBI BE THE NEXT PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL!!!

That is point #1.

Without going into all the details, EVERY media source in Israel agrees that because of what Bibi did to Feiglin, Likud LOST 10-12 SEATS IN THE KNESSET!!!

Based on that, Ketzale should be THANKING Feiglin for making the Likud WEAKER!!!!!!

That is point #2.

Before Bibi started playing around with Feiglin’s spot on the Likud list, all election polls showed that neither Hershkowitz’s “Jewish Home” party nor Ketzale’s “National Union” party would pass the minimum threshold for votes needed to get Knesset seats. When Bibi succeeded in pushing Feiglin down 16 spots on the Likud list, the public responded by giving 3 seats to “Jewish Home”, 4 seats to “National Union” and 4-5 more seats to “Yisrael Beitenu” (Lieberman’s party). These three parties need to send “Thank You Letters” to Moshe Feiglin!!!

That is point #3.

And finally, there is only ONE MAN in the world today who keeps Bibi up at night, drives up his blood pressure and makes him totally nuts. There is only ONE MAN in the world today that caused Bibi to end his family’s summer vacation in the middle in order to have an emergency meeting with his Deputy Prime Minister (Boogey Ya’alon) after that Deputy Prime Minister committed a “crime” of meeting with some of his supporters. There is only ONE MAN who forces Bibi’s hand in the Central Committee, defeats him time and again in the Likud court and grabs enormous public attention away from King Bibi all of the time. The name of that man? Well, it’s NOT Ketzale, Marzel, Eidelberg or Rabbi Melamed. It’s not even – L’havdil – Obama, Ahamadinejad, Assad or Mubarak. It’s Moshe Feiglin.

That is point #4.

Tell Ketzale that we love him dearly, respect him tremendously for all that he has done for our people and think that he is a true Jewish hero… but on THIS POINT, he is TOTALLY mistaken and 100% wrong. We need to work TOGETHER to change the leadership and that can ONLY be done within the Likud party.

Allow me to end with this last question: Every body told me that Barak Obama ran an incredible presidential campaign; Internet, YouTube, slogans like “Change” and “Hope” etc… Had he run the EXACT campaign – word for word and dollar for dollar – NOT as the Democratic candidate but as an Independent candidate – would he be president today??????

For some unknown reason, in order to become president of the USA, you have to be either Republican or Democrat. That is some kind of “unwritten rule” and will probably not change for the next 50 years. Israel works the same way. If you come from the “national camp” and want to be the Prime Minister, you MUST FIRST rise to a leadership position within Likud. This is why we are there. Ariel Sharon came from Likud and so did Olmert and Livni. Lieberman was General Manager of Likud. Like it or not, the Likud is the incubator for leadership in Israel and if you want to lead Israel – something that Moshe Feiglin truly wants to do – you MUST do it through Likud.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to respond.

With love of Israel,

Shmuel

The links within Shmuel's message are my blog posts of the events he's referring to and reflect my opinion and not his or Moshe Feiglin's. I put them in case anyone was not familiar with the incidents described.

It will be interesting to see whether I get a response from Ketzeleh's camp. I don't think points 1-4 are subject to dispute.

I asked the person who sent me Sackett's response:

I'm curious: IF Moshe and Shmuel headed a party rather than being a faction within the Likud, or if for some other reason they were in the position of having to recommend someone to Peres to form the government, what would they have done? Recommend no one?

Here's what Sackett said:

After Bibi lost to Livni in the last elections, Moshe Feiglin went on the public record and said that Bibi should NOT be the one entitled to setting up the next government.

-Shmuel

He may not have been entitled to it, but I believe we would have been worse off with Livni in charge. Livni would have gotten along better with Obama, but she would have continued on the same path that she was on under Olmert.

But yes, I will be happy to see Manhigut Yehudit take over the Likud (and I think I have mentioned before on this blog that I am a member).

Maybe next time.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:11 PM