How a battle was won; Why a battle was lost; How the war could be won

On May 2nd, 2004, the opposition in Israel suceeded in overwhelmingly defeating PM Sharon in the Likud referendum.

How?

By training people to appeal to the Likud electorate and to the media with a universal message The Sharon Plan as a threat to all of the people of Israel, and not only to the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Katif.

The teams that went out to canvas voters got people to read the Sharon Plan for what it is: PLO empowerment.

The campaign against the Sharon Plan, since that time, used a totally different tactic

Appealing to people to endorse the narrowly focused idea of sentiments for people who live in Katif and the Shomron.

This tactic only appealed to the convinced to become more convinced, and did not reach outside of the ideologically strong circles.

The only way for Israel’s opposition to win now would be to adopt all of the principles of outreach, in what is know as the “kiruv” methodology… to develop an approach which will convince the movers and shakers of the Jewish people that withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and the creation of a PLO State represents a threat to A L L of the Jewish people… and represent a threat to the West.

The opposition must understand why the battle was lost and how a war has yet to be won.

The time has come for the opposition to learn the lessons of arrogance, and to realize that no one took the time to educate the movers and shakers of the people of Israel.

• Most people in Israel never even knew location of Katif or the Northern Shomron, nor their proximity to the population centers of Israel.
• Most people never read the easily accessible Sharon plan.
• Most people have no idea that the focus of the plan is to arm and fund the PLO entity without any quid pro quo whatsoever.
• Most people have no idea that the PLO strategy of phases is still in force and that the PLO covenant has never been changed.
• Most people have no idea that 70% of the Arabs in Gaza wallow in UNRWA camps, under the premise and promise of the right of return, and that they are pushed by the Palestinian Authority to reclaim their lands from beyond Gaza.

In sum, if a massive effort to educate and reach out to all of the Jewish people is not launched, Israel will stand to lose its hegemony in Judea, Samaria and even Jerusalem…

The reality is that if the business community of Ramat Gan and the population of 33 development towns are not convinced that Judea and Samaria should stay in Jewish hands, the opposition to Sharon will lose the war.