The Ashkenazi Revolution

anished – just as Grossman was banished by Jabotinsky. Within the closecircles of Begin, and also among dozens of the best youth of Etzel, the faithlived on that when evil and bitter days came to the nation, Begin wouldreturn to his greatness and guide his people not to the voting booth but tothe enemy’s camp as he stands at the forefront of a war of salvation for thestate. This is a very weak hope, since Begin had lost touch with those withreal power within the state, and there is little doubt that, until his last day,he will serve a double function, as a king of the “Fortress of Zeev” and as ademocratic parliamentarian in the Knesset building. But the hope ofmonarchy in the State of Israel is not exhausted, for the monarchicpressures are still very strong just as witnessed by the monarchisticoutbreak lead by Lady Rachel Yanait Ben-Tzvi, the wife of the secondprince, after the death of her husband. Who knows? It is possible thatsomewhere, within the camps of Etzel, under the training of a minorsergeant, is hiding one who is destined to be one of the great kings ofIsrael. The strength of the Knesset is based on the fact that as long as itsmembers spend their time debating the minutiae of minor ordinances, everycitizen are assured of just treatment and he need not fear tyranny or cruelty.The unfortunate weakness of the Knesset is that it is not a Roman senate ora British parliament. It was not the Knesset that founded the State of Israel,but the Israeli kings who ruled over armed organizations (Haganah amongthem) during the 1930’s and 1940’s; those same kings who ruled militarilyand not only militarily, but also founded military tribunals that judgedcapital cases without sufficient evidence, and did other deeds that shouldnot be done. But the tribes were reborn in the new Land of Israel not onlyin the form of kings but also in the form of political parties. For thesepolitical parties more resemble the tribes than their counterparts in otherdemocratic states. For every major political party there is a spiritual father,ideologue and judge and between it and the other parties there is a divisionof enmity and competition of the most severe character. The hatredbetween the Revisionists and the parties of the left almost led to a civil war.Between Etzel and Lehi there is a tough animosity. Also the competitionbetween Mapai and the Labor coalition involved administrative struggles,division of camps and competition with the I.D.F. and Palmach. Severeepisodes awaited the relationship between the first Hebrew community37