Harder Line Likud Poised to Win Israeli Election

Above is a photo of Moshe Feiglin. Feiglin can only be described as an anti-democratic racist, yet he was elected to the 20th spot on the Likud Party's list in the upcoming Israeli elections. More disturbing is that his - only slightly less reactionary - allies won 7 of the top 10 positions in recent the Likud primary. Likud "moderates" (which really means right-wing nationalist pragmatists) such as former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and ex-Justice and Finance Minister Dan Meridor, were delegated to relatively low places on the Likud list.

Benyamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud - who is a hawk's hawk; a Nietzschean who believes that power and strength are the only measure of a person's worth or a who believes that peace is an illusion: it is a dog eat dog world and the only choice is whether to eat or be eaten; and a Thatcherite who has openly said that she is his hero, and who as finance minister destroyed Israel's, then already shaky, social safety net - is trying to make the Likud look moderate and centrist to appeal to disaffected Kadima voters. He was worried that Feiglin's success in the Likud primaries would ruin his party's image make-over.

Apparently it doesn't matter. Netanyahu has nothing to worry about. Polls show the Likud winning a plurality with 31 - 36 seats in the 120 seat Knesset.

The Israeli electorate has been bombarded with right wing, hawkish, and racist propaganda for so long now, that even an open fascist like Feiglin does not faze them any more. Kadima appears incompetent, Labour is in disarray, the left - what there is of it - are wusses or 'friers', and Netanyahu has been around so long he has begun to look like an elder statesman. And besides the Arabs deserve it!

For a more complete - and dispassionate - review of the situation read this article from JTA.