Yisrael Beiteinu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Yisrael Beytenu ישראל ביתנו | |
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| Founded | 1999 by Avigdor Lieberman |
| Leader | Avigdor Lieberman |
| Number of MPs at height of power | 11 (2006) |
| Political ideology | Populist, Revisionist Zionism[citation needed] |
| Headquarters | Jerusalem |
| Website | beytenu.org.il |
| See also the Politics of Israel series | |
Yisrael Beiteinu (Hebrew: ישראל ביתנו, lit. Israel, Our Home) is a right-wing political party in Israel. It takes a hard line towards Israeli Arabs and Palestinians based upon a realpolitik view that they do not support the right of Jews to maintain a Jewish state in the Middle East. One of its founders and leaders is Avigdor Lieberman, a former Likud member, who is known for his plan to redraw the Green Line with the West Bank in such a way that areas such as the "Triangle" ("Meshulash" in Hebrew, eastern Sharon) and Wadi 'Ara — transferred to Israel from Jordan as part of the 1949 Armistice Agreements — will be transferred to Arab sovereignty. This will mean that some third of the Arab citizens of Israel would lose Israeli citizenship. He justifies the idea of giving up a part of the State of Israel by arguing that the residents of the area are Arabs who see themselves as Palestinians rather than Israelis, and therefore should be encouraged to re-unite — including, controversially, providing financial incentive for Arab Israeli emigration out of Israel whenever territorially applicable — with the Palestinian Authority as part of establishing two separate national entities: one for Israelis and one for Palestinians. However, he is known to have affection for the non-Jewish Druze population (which accepts Israel and serves in the IDF), attracting a number of Druze voters. Yisrael Beytenu received 11 seats in the Israeli parliament in the March 2006 elections. In October 2006, with the support of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Yisrael Beytenu became part of the Kadima-led coalition government, despite objections from Labour.
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[edit] Founding
Yisrael Beiteinu was formed by Lieberman to create a platform for Russian immigrants who support a hard line in negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Much of his motivation was inspired by the concessions granted by his former boss when he was director-general of the Likud, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the Palestinian Authority in the 1997 Wye River Memorandum that included the division of the West Bank city of Hebron.
One of the partners in Netanyahu's coalition was Israel Ba-Aliya, a new immigrants' list led by Natan Sharansky that also had right-of-center leanings. Lieberman himself had resigned from the Likud as a result of the Wye Accords, and he registered great disappointment when Sharansky did not pull out of the coalition, as did two of Sharansky's colleagues in Israel Ba-Aliya, Michael Nudelman and Yuri Stern, both of whom broke away to form Aliya - for a Renewed Israel.
For the 1999 elections, Lieberman and Aliya formed Yisrael Beiteinu, and the list won four seats, two short of Sharansky, though later two more members of Israel Ba-Aliya would defect to the left leaving Liberman and Sharansky equal. Since then the party has joined in a coalition with the National Union, a party led by Benny Elon and Zvi Hendel in a coalition that lasted through the 2003 elections, although shortly after the two groups parted ways when the National Union joined Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition.
In the 2006 elections, Yisrael Beiteinu ran alone. It was joined by former Shin Bet Deputy Director, Israel Hasson, as third on its list. The party was successful, winning 11 seats. However it did not initially join the central-left government and opted to operate in opposition.
[edit] Platform
Essentially, the two key principles held by the movement are the creation of an encouraging socio-economic environment for new immigrants to Israel, while at the same time taking a hard line on all negotiations with the Palestinians and other Arab states. Part of the academic argument in the movement's platform are the numerous studies published by faculties in Israel that warn of a danger posed by the rising percentage of Arabs in the state's population to the Jewish character of it. The only solution, argue many of their supporters, is an increased effort to bring more Jews to Israel by immigration, and/or convincing as many Arab Israelis to leave. By giving in to Yasser Arafat's demands, argued Lieberman, the government would aggravate the threat by strengthening the Palestinians' resolve to demand the Right of Return of Palestinians to Israeli territory.
Despite its strong Zionist values and support for aliyah and settlement, Yisrael Beiteinu supports a two-state solution to the conflict. According to the party motto, "Israel is Our Home, Palestine is Theirs". In 2005, the party proposed the so-called Lieberman Plan, an alternative to Sharon's Disengagement plan, that would see large blocs of land in Israel bordering the West Bank populated by Arabs transferred to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the larger settlements including Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip which was destroyed before the withdrawal. Although the plan was criticised for being racist, it broke with a long tradition in the Israeli national camp that saw transfer of minority populations between states as the only solution to deal with a perceived threat of disloyalty by Israeli Arabs to idea of a state of Jewish refuge in the Middle East. It was the first proposal for the transfer of lands in Israel proper to the PA in exchange for peace. The Lieberman Plan also caused a stir among Israeli Arabs, which do not serve in the Israeli army and identify with the Palestinians, yet at the same time call for equal status in Israel as citizens, and have no desire to live in a Palestinian state. Because of this, Yisrael Beiteinu promotes the idea that all Israeli citizens should swear loyalty to the country and its symbols.
[edit] Raleb Majadele controversy
In January 2007, Labour party leader, Amir Peretz, nominated Raleb Majadele for the position of Minister of Science and Technology, making him Israel's first Muslim Arab minister. [1] Lieberman condemned the nomination and called for Peretz's resignation, accusing him of harming Israel's security by ceding to "internal rivalries" within the Labour party. [2]
Controversy erupted when MK Esterina Tartman, chair of the Yisrael Beiteinu's Knesset faction, referred to Peretz's decision as a "lethal blow to Zionism," adding that Majadale's presence in the cabinet would damage "Israel's character as a Jewish state." [3] Tartman continued, saying, "We need to destroy this affliction from within ourselves. God willing, God will come to our help."
Tartman's comments were immediately condemned by other members of the Knesset, such as Yoram Marciano (Labour) and Michael Eitan (Likud), who suggested that they were evidence of a racist ideology underpinning Yisrael Beytenu. [4]
