North American Jewish leaders who consider themselves Zionists should not only support the results of the Nov. 1 Israeli election, but applaud them.
We not only have a government that represents a majority of the citizens of Israel—unlike the previous government—but one that is dedicated to a Zionist vision that supports the rights of Jews to live in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan.
One of the most important things this election demonstrated is that most Jews in Israel support the settlements. The Labor Party, which attempted to implement the two-state solution by creating a terrorist-run quasi-state, was not only defeated, but trounced. Despite widespread condemnation of Religious Zionist Party leaders Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, especially in the left-wing media, the party received overwhelming support.
Left-wing hate-mongering—calling people they oppose racists and fascists—didn’t work. Most people consider such tactics offensive and desperate smear campaigns.
The new government offers an opportunity to reaffirm the principles of Zionism: That the Land of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people and Israel is a democracy.
Politicians in America, Canada, the E.U. and elsewhere may dislike the results of the election and its implications, but they are not threatened daily by Palestinian Arab terrorists. In fact, many of these politicians support these terrorists, if only by funneling funds to the Palestinian Authority, which uses the money to pay terrorists and their families.
Many of these politicians also support the two-state solution, despite Palestinian leaders’ innumerable declarations that they oppose Israel’s very existence and support Holocaust denial, terrorism and violence in general. This is not even to mention their open anti-Semitism.
That is what the election was all about. And it explains why one person, Ben Gvir, was the focus of left-wing ire. He represents Israelis who oppose the two-state solution. He and others are unwilling to accept Arab violence in mixed Israeli cities and Palestinian terrorism in general. They have the courage to stand against such violence and assert that we don’t have to live in fear.
This election was a vote for Israeli sovereignty and the rule of law. It was a vote against the Palestinian narrative. Israelis showed that they do not want to live with illusions and delusions. They want reality.
Moshe Dann, Ph.D., is a historian, writer and journalist living in Israel.
