Professor Eidelberg - A Question from Upstate NY

Professors Responses in Bold Parentheticals ( )

This is an email exchange I had with Professor Paul Eidelberg,
Co-Founder and President of The Foundation for Constitutional Democracy.
He also teaches at Bar Illan University in Israel and has drafted a Constitution for the State of Israel, which has influenced various Knesset Members interested in constitutional reform

http://foundation1.org/wp-en/store

From: Avi Rudofsky
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2009 6:28 PM
To: Professor Eidelberg
Subject: Professor Eidelberg - A Question from Upstate NY

Professor,

I have listened to you on INR and seen your articles from Women in Green.
You are a bright and articulate man. Your motivation seems to be pure.
Your criticism of the Supreme court Justices and the lack of checks and balances in Israeli government.
are well stated.

Does the use of a coalition government have to go also?

(Coalition government in Israel must go: it's divisive, inept, and conducive to corruption. Needed, therefore, is exclusion of MKs from the cabinet, and this means that Israel must eliminate election of slates and institute direct, personal election of MKs).

Can any of these changes you advocate occur without a seat of power in the Knesset?

(No, but we first need to organize non-parliamentary nationalist groups to press for such reforms and support or initiate a party that will have institutional reform at the center of its program).


I have been a follower of MY and Feiglin so far here in Upstate NY.
The Likud takeover did not seem to work.

( I never saw any convincing argument that MY and Feiglin would take over the Likud, and warned against such an effort. )


I asked them why they don't join a coalition with the NU and the religious right and
the US chapter Representative Rob Munchick said they think everyone else will sell out. Perhaps MY is simply being too stubborn. I like their focus on the issues.

(They are very selective on which issue they focus on: the most popular being "Jewish identity." Now, for the record, the MY program is more or less based on essays I provided them more than ten years ago. But contrary to my emphasis, Feiglin did not stress, on public forums, the necessity constituency elections and a presidential system as a means of promoting Jewish identity. Moreover, by joining the Likud, he split the "nationalist camp").


I know you know what needs to happen...but how? Whats a Jew in the US to do to help?

(To begin with, recognize that MY is not going to take over the Likud—certainly not in the foreseeable future. Second, convey the truth that Israel is not a genuine democracy—for reasons indicated in my many articles. But in revealing this truth, point out that my Foundation for Constitutional Democracy (FCD) has developed a philosophy of Jewish democracy. This philosophy will make Israel more Jewish by means of democratic principles, and more democratic by means of Jewish principle. No other organization has done this. What we lack, however, is the financial support to get this message to all Israel's. The message is contained in my 70-page booklet The Myth of Israeli Democracy: Toward a Truly Jewish Israel. MY should endorse and even help disseminate this booklet).


I want to protect my future and have tried to follow Israeli politics from here.
It seems like it is deadlocked to failure. I could ask you what you would do if you were PM. But the real question is how would you organize to become PM.

(I am not interested in the job. But if I had the money, I would set up a "School for Jewish Statesmanship" and try to recruit the right person to head a constitutional party).

All the best