Over the past few weeks, the Likud has offered the small far-right party Otzma Yehudit the moon for it to drop out of the election, in which it has no chance of making it into the Knesset. The offers included unfreezing years-long construction bans in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria; lowering the minimum electoral threshold for the next election so Otzma Yehudit would stand a chance of getting into the Knesset; and a number of tempting offices. But the Otzma Yehudit members insist on running headfirst into a brick wall. Most of them admit they have zero chance of passing the minimum threshold. They are aware that the tens of thousands of ballots that will be cast for their party won't count and will in effect be tossed out as political detritus. Still, they say, there is value in them voicing "their truth."
Their inspiration, the late Rabbi Meir Kahana, left them a clear legacy on that point: "Even if we don't pass [the minimum threshold] – our truth will be heard."
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"There is immense value in that," they repeatedly explain, pointedly ignoring the possibility that their failure "to pass" will bring down the right-wing bloc and allow the opposing bloc to build a government that is much farther from their own worldview.
They fail repeatedly, and repeatedly dupe their public into thinking it's about to happen. In the election for the 17th Knesset they won 25,000 votes, failing to pass the minimum threshold, which in that election stood at 62,000. In the election for the 19th Knesset, they received 1.76% of the vote, short of the 2% minimum threshold. In the election for the 20th Knesset, they won 3% of the vote, again falling short of the minimum threshold, which had been raised to 3.25%. In the election for the 22nd Knesset, they received 1.88% of the votes, again failing to pass the 3.25% minimum threshold.
Once again, they are deluding the public, while talking among themselves about "their truth." They might be right about their truth. They might also be wrong. That's not the issue. "Truth" can be voiced outside the Knesset, and larger movements than their own have done so for years, with considerable success – both the Gush Emunim settler movement and the Peace Now leftist group have exerted major influence. "Truth" can be expressed in newspapers, in columns, and at demonstrations, as well as in books and plays and interviews. But when the "truth" puts your core faith in danger, when the "truth" has no real chance of making it into the Knesset; when that "truth" puts another "truth" that is close but not identical to your own "truth" at risk of losing the election, it is "truth" no longer. It's foolishness and arrogance and a delusion.
Otzma Yehudit voters need to hear this truth, too, before they make another mistake at the polls.
