Opinion: The New Face Of Kadima And The Revolution In Israeli Politics

On Wednesday, September 17^th, Tzipi Livni was elected as the new leader of the Kadima political party. While the election may have been only a primary, its true meaning goes far beyond Kadima. In essence, on September 17^th Tzipi Livni was elected the de facto Prime Minister of the State of Israel, and by choosing Tzipi Livni the people of Israel chose to vote for change.

Today, change has become the defining issue of every major democracy in the world and the catch phrase of every major democratic leader. Beginning with Tony Blair in the United Kingdom, followed by Angela Merkel in Germany, continuing with Nicolas Sarkozy in France and now in the current US presidential campaign between John McCain and Barack Obama– the idea of change is part of a global wave overtaking democracies around the world. Tzipi Livni represents a direct continuation of this worldwide trend of young democratic leaders understanding that the old order is over and a new era has come.

Democratic populations around the globe are fed up with the old games of bad politics and corruption, which are ultimately the most subtle, yet most divisive enemies of democracy. By choosing Tzipi Livni, the people of Israel expressed their hope for a new kind of Israeli politics, a new perspective on Israel’s problems and a new movement to put politics back in the hands of the people. These are exactly the areas where Olmert failed, causing unimaginable damage to the image of the Israeli Prime Minister and the role of politics in Israeli society.

While there are many challenges and obstacles waiting for Tzipi Livni and while it will not be easy to repair the failures of the past, she looks more than determined to complete the task at hand.  

Yet, above all, the fact that a woman is now the leader of the Jewish state, is by itself a revolution, after all it has been over 30 years since the only other female Prime Minister in Israel’s history, Golda Meir, left office.

On Sunday, September 14, at the Exhibition Fairgrounds in Tel Aviv, Tzipi Livni, now the new leader of the Kadima party, declared in front of thousands of supporters that Israel is and must remain both a Jewish and a democratic state. "We will not compromise on security of the State of Israel but we will have to make painful territorial concessions in order to ensure that the State of Israel remains a Jewish and a democratic state".

Coming from a veteran Likud member whose family was heavily involved in the Irgun resistance movement against the British before the independence of the State of Israel, this message essentially expressed the evolution of Zionist ideology in year 2008.

This message expressed how the vast majority of Israelis have now moved from dogmatism to pragmatism.

The once “infallible” ideologies of Israel’s major political parties - such as the notion of a Greater Israel on the right, or the notion of a pure socialist State on the left – now have more room to move in Israel’s current political scene.

In today’s Israel, everyone mixes a little too much water with their wine, making the wine either undrinkable or simply taste like grape juice.

Kadima, now the leading centrist party in Israel, is neither the dawn of a new era in Israeli politics, nor a fleeting moment in Israeli history. It is the product of a nation which was created upon a hard and well-defined ideological base and which, after 60 years of existence, has come to terms with the reality of the situation inside and outside of Israel. The final result is that Israel has realized it must adapt itself and must take into account many increasingly complicated situations in order to survive.

Only a visionary political movement combining modern Zionism with adaptability can lead the State of Israel in the years to come. The fact that Israel’s classic political parties are slowly disappearing and no longer have the same political clout they once did, is often troubling to Israelis.

Many Israelis miss “the good old days”, when there were only two major Israeli political parties: the left-wing Labor Party, composed of kibbutzniks and the intelligentsia of Eastern Europe; and the right-wing Likud party, made up of masses of traditionalists from “the East” who lived in Israel’s major city centers.

This dichotomy, which was the result of distinct and separate waves of Jewish immigration arriving to Israel at different times in history, is no longer as relevant today as it once was – undoubtedly for the better.

The rise of a centrist party in Israel helped blur these social differences, creating something that resembles the centrist political parties of Western nations - less ideology and more pragmatism; less talk and more action.

We, the people of Israel, are living in a period of disillusionment and detachment from the era of Israel’s bigger-than-life statesmen. The last one of this kind is still alive, laying in a deep coma in the Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv – the last of this kind is Ariel Sharon.

For those of you who doubt the validity this new trend and question its impact on the future of the State of Israel, I would like to share a little anecdote.

A short item ago, during a military exercise I participated in as part of my reserve duty, I met exceptional men, all elite fighters, all reservists, who leave their jobs and their family for several weeks every year in order to participate in training sessions and real operations for the defense of the State of Israel.

Their only motivation is their love of Israel, the defense of their country and the protection of their families. When they spoke, I heard nothing but professionalism and pragmatism. No passion or emotion beyond the duty of a citizen in a modern country which is and will always be a Jewish and democratic state.

These men, named Itamar, Zev and Doron, are the backbone of the State of Israel in 2008. They want to live, work and educate their children, and most importantly they are ready to fight to defend their country. They represent the new Israel of 2008, neither the right nor the left, but the real politik – the pragmatic, professional and progressive new face of modern Zionism.

This is the real strength of the State of Israel.

On the same Sunday, September 14, a few hours before Tzipi Livni’s conference in Tel Aviv, two Kassam rockets fired by terrorists in the Gaza Strip struck the Israeli town of Sderot. Fortunately, no casualties were inflicted, but one of the missiles did land a direct hit on a residential area – reminding us that beyond internal Israeli politics, the external threats against the state of Israel are still as real and as tangible as ever.

These dangers, coming from Hamas in Gaza, from Hizbullah in Lebanon, from Syria and from Iran, are the elements that prevent the State of Israel from ever becoming a normal state.

Why, you ask? Because Israel is the only democracy in the world which is threatened with total destruction by its neighbors.

The only way to confront and overcome this threat is to be totally different from our enemies, that is, to always be a Jewish and democratic state. Against our enemies threats of archaism, despotism and self-destruction we launch our progressive technology, our enlightened intelligence and our strength of spirit.

Faced with the violent Islamist ideology of Hamas and Hizbullah and an Iranian President who resembles more an apostle of death than the leader of a sovereign country, the Israel of 2008 needs a strong, responsible society and a leader who is able to stare the future in the face and provide an enlightened and decisive path for the modern Jewish democracy.