Yesha Council Remains Non-PoliticalUm,...yeah, like "elements" which violate Torah Law.
February 9, 2009
(IsraelNN.com) The Judea and Samaria Council emphasized Monday that it is a non-political body and will not endorse specific parties in Tuesday’s elections. The council also explained that although some council members have made their personal views public, they do not reflect an official council policy....Maybe not technically, but c'mon! YeSh"A Council head Danny Dayan is a candidate on the Jewish home Party list.
And then, of course,...
...Last week Council CEO Pinhas Wallerstein publicly endorsed the Jewish Home party. He explained that he could not vote for the Ichud Le’umi (National Union) party since it contained elements which did not respect the authority of the state.
You may recall that Pinhas wallerstein was a long time council member, and Head of the Binyamin Regional Council, before "retiring." He then mysteriously popped back on the scene as executive director. I wonder if they had to beg him to come back.
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When the YeSh"A Council's Head and its executive director publicly endorse political parties, how can it get away with making such an outrageous statement like "it is a non-political body?"
And why shouldn't it be a political body?
The YeSh"A Council is supposed to be encouraging settlement of Yehudah and Shomron, and for that matter Azza (Judea, Samaria and Gaza), not making deals to give up or trade this piece for that, and certainly not collaborating with the [almighty] State to expel Jews from their homes in these areas. Respecting authority is one thing; actively helping is another.
There is no question that the YeSh"A Council should be endorsing the Ihud Le’umi (National Union), the ONLY party which has been clear that it is against land giveaways to our enemies (The Jewish Home Party is not.), thus the only party which comes even close to supporting the YeSh"A Council's supposed goals.
But, what do you expect from a "non-political body" which received its budget directly from the Office of the Prime Minister.
That's precisely why it has to be nonpartisan. And no, there is nothing at all inconsistent in an organisation being nonpartisan while its officers, in their private capacity, make political endorsements. It's perfectly normal. Just because someone works for a nonpartisan organisation doesn't mean one must suppress ones own views; it just means one must express them on ones own dime and on ones own time.
ReplyDeleteIn the USA churches and shuls are not allowed to endorse political candidates. But ministers and rabbis remain free to do so in their private capacity, and many do. They can't do it from the pulpit, or on church/shul stationery, but when speaking as private people, or writing under their own names, they can say whatever they like.
I said they were technically correct.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens when you secretly use the organization's resources and money to further a political agenda?
No, I don't have the evidence in my hand, but I strongly believe this to be the case, and am working on gathering such evidence.
I must admit, I doubt that I will be successful. Everything is well-hidden.
But even if they would not endorse anyone, and their party preferences would not be known they would be political, so why try to hide it?
ReplyDeleteLike it or not, hityashvut over the green line is political. Moetset Yesha is not a regional council - it is a special interest group (not all special interest groups are by definition evil). Encouraging Jews to live in the Galil is a political issue. Encourage more Tanakh study in schools is a political issue. Banning the use of plastic bags is a political issue.
Attempting to evade one's very nature is wrong and counterproductive to their very essence. So, regardless of what their political views are - they ARE political. They cannot be non-partisan - it is their very raison d'etre.
And Milhouse, I really don't think that religious organizations' tax-exempt status in the US, which forbids them from being political, applies to what is, in effect, a lobby.
LB,
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
B"H - I like the picture with the Golden Calf because I think it sums up the Zionist movement, especially the religion called "Religious Zionism" which is not to be confused with Judaism, even though some of its practitioners happen to be born Jewish.
ReplyDelete