Tel-Chai Nation

Benjamin Netanyahu has said very accurately that the upcoming elections in Israel are a referendum (Hat tip: Menorah):

"The coming elections are a national referendum on the Olmert-Kadima plan to give away land to Hamas for nothing in return," Binyamin Netanyahu said last night [on Channel Two's Meet the Press program].

Dr. Aaron Lerner also agrees with this:

...Yes, Acting PM Ehud Olmert only said explicitly that he intended to tear down the Jewish communities located beyond an as yet to be finalized security fence -- and two of the Kadima party's senior security personalities, Avi Dichter and MK Gideon Ezra, have asserted that the IDF will not retreat from the rubble, but Olmert has carefully maintained his option to embrace DM Mofaz's position that once the homes are bulldozed that the IDF should high-tail it back behind the fence.

And since the retreat is just that -- a retreat, this "package" does not include any clear picture regarding what will transpire in the evacuated areas beyond the traditional secular messianic view that the IDF will be eternally able to prevail, at an acceptable cost, regardless of the opening conditions on the ground.

[...]

After the retreat the situation will be completely different. A nightmare in the very center of the country. A war of attrition that saps the country and a fighting force that in time of invasion can provide both a bridgehead for the invaders and divert vital Israeli forces needed at the fronts.

I wanted to send a simple message to my fellow countrymen who oppose the retreat but out of disgust for the politicians do not plan to vote: These elections are not about Netanyahu, or Silvan "Steve" Shalom, or various other politicians in the other parties in the national camp. These elections are a national referendum on retreat.

Staying at home is a vote for retreat. I have no illusions. There is no guarantee that the politicians will ultimately even honor the outcome of the "referendum". But it is our only shot. And sometimes in life you make an effort because an issue is so important even if you can't be certain that the effort will pay off.

What's we are voting for here is the platform, not the politician. And that's exactly why it's important to go and vote. For our future.