The following was released by Deputy Knesset Speaker MK (Likud) Moshe Feiglin.
The share of the settlers in Israel’s security – in blood and money – is greater than that of any other sector in Israel’s population. As is widely known, there are a disproportionately large number of soldiers from the settlements fighting in combat and elite units. What is less widely known is that the settlers are the most economically productive sector in Israel – the true middle class. As such, their share in taxes paid to the State, which trickle down to the military budget – is proportionately the highest in Israel.
The idea of abandoning them to the thugs of the PLO and Hamas is evil and cruel. But if someone means this seriously, it is only right that the settler’s proportional part in the IDF be left in their hands, so that they can defend themselves.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
The view of most Israelis is that the settlements are a failed policy since the rest of the world considers it to be on land that belongs to the Arabs. While the Israelis are totally naive in believing that the Arabs will end the war in return for withdrawal from the West Bank, that is what the majority of Israelis believe. Even if the settlers in the West Bank were left to their own devices, they could hardly survive as virtually all their industrial goods, weapons, oil, other raw materials,etc., are imported and if Israel withdrew and agreed not to support the settlers (which is what the rest of the world wants), they wouldn’t last more than a few days.
Remember that Israel is a democratic country, and it is not a Jewish one — the majority of Israelis are indifferent to whether Eretz Yisrael is halachically significant since most Israelis have long since rejected Judaism. If the settlers want to survive, they should be working for some sort of settlement of the war with the Arabs that will be acceptable to both the Arabs and Israelis, since otherwise they (the settlers) are guaranteed losers.
This guy is delusional. From a purely economic perspective, the cost of protecting and sustaining these settlements including extension of utility systems, bypass roads, security perimeters, etc. vastly outweighs their relative contribution in terms of tax revenues. Also, you cannot give them a “pro-rata” share of the IDF. If they want to stay behind and live on the Palestinian side of the border once a two state agreement is negotiated, Netanyahu has said that is their right but don’t expect the calvary to come riding to the rescue when the terrorists show up at their door.