For Likud primary candidate Daniel Tauber, the answers to both the party and the country’s problems can be found in one place: the works of Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky.
Tauber, a 29-year-old Staten Island native, is the executive director of Likud Anglos and is running in the 35th spot reserved for young candidates in this month’s party primary.
As the grandson of Jabotinsky’s personal aide, Rabbi Jack Tauber, the candidate is well versed in the ideas of the Likud’s ideological forefather, a fact that he views as an electoral advantage – especially with Anglo voters.
“I think all Americans are Jabotinsky-ites, even if they don’t know who he is,” Tauber, an attorney certified in the US and Israel, said.
“Jabotinsky is my hero, and his is the political philosophy I follow.
He represents classic Liberalism: free market, tempered by the need to help the poor and regulate when necessary, plus a strong foreign policy to protect citizens.”
Jabotinsky’s message is exactly what Tauber hopes to spread within the Likud, where he is working to “change the political culture.”
According to him, the Likud is currently suffering from two problems: infidelity to the party’s ideology and “vote contractors.”
When MKs are not loyal to Jabotinsky and the Likud’s ideology, Tauber said, the party “bleeds people out,” like MKs who left when Kadima was formed in 2006 and those who favor a Palestinian state.
“It’s not good for the party, which should be leading Israel in a certain direction,” he added.
Infidelity to the Likud’s ideology brings success to “vote contractors,” Tauber explained, because primary candidates do not have to present their beliefs.
“Vote contractors control everything. It isn’t about campaigning, but getting people with interests to support you, for reasons that have nothing to do with policy or the good of the nation,” he stated.
“The system makes it hard not to sell your soul and make deals with people you shouldn’t be dealing with.”
Tauber equated pragmatism with “throwing principles out the window,” and said he will stick to his ideology and do what he can to make those beliefs a reality.
According to the primary candidate, one way to solve this problem is for more people to get involved in politics. Voting in a party primary, he explained, is the way citizens can have a say in who runs the country.
Since taking the reins at Likud Anglos two years ago, Tauber has worked to increase the participation of English speakers in party politics.
Tauber often tells Likud MKs and ministers that Anglos are different from many other Israeli demographic groups, in that they do not deal in sectarian politics.
“We don’t need money for Anglos; we just want a say in the direction of our country. I think that says something about the type of people making aliya from English-speaking countries who retain selfless dedication to Israel and the Jewish people,” he said.
“I tried to bridge the gap between MKs and the people, enabling them to hear what people have to say and tell their representatives what they want,” Tauber added. “When we meet MKs, we tell them we want electoral reform, no Palestinian state and improved immigration and absorption policies.”
According to Tauber, the Anglo position on social issues differs from that of last summer’s protesters and fits in with the Likud’s ideology.
“Anglos want free commerce, which the government should encourage, not block with high taxes,” he said.