The Ichud Leumi: A RETURN TO ZIONISM

Welcome to the English language website of the Ichud Leumi (National Union) party. The Ichud Leumi – the National Union, as its name implies, represents a broad consensus of the Israeli public that believes in the vital importance of safeguarding the security and national heritage of the Jewish People in the State of Israel.  Unlike other parties that have fractured into splinter groups based on the personal interests of individual figures, Ichud Leumi has demonstrated that our leaders' priority is a united, strong and effective Right under the traditional banners of Zionist and Jewish values.  We include religious and secular candidates, immigrants and native Israelis, men and women, those who emphasize the right of the Jewish People to live safely and proudly in all of the Land of Israel, and those whose priority is to strengthen the educational and social framework of the Jewish State. Together our candidates offer a practical platform of security, social and economic goals and accomplishments, representing the only major party that has stayed true to the ideals that have always defined the National Camp.

OUR PLATFORM

1. Jewish Identity

• The Jewish identity of the nation must be expressed in all facets of social life, education, culture, personal status and legislation.
• The party will promote the deepening of the eternal values of the Bible in the life of the nation.
• Israel is a Jewish AND democratic state - and as such will safeguard equal rights for all its citizens.
• The image of Shabbat will be safeguarded in the State of Israel.
• Religious services will be returned to proper levels in Israel: rabbis, mikveh facilities, kashrut and municipal authorities that oversee religious matters.
• Opposition to civil marriages and to conversions that do not conform to Jewish law are conditions for unity of the Jewish people.
• The status quo in religious and national affairs will be maintained, which will guarantee the Jewish character of the State of Israel. Added legislation in these areas will be proposed with wide national agreement.

2. The Land of Zion and Jerusalem

• The Land of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people, founded on the basis of the Bible and our historical heritage.
• The party will act to encourage Jewish immigration to Israel and absorption, and to strengthen Jewish settlement in all territories of the Land of Israel.
• Israeli sovereignty will gradually be extended over all sections of the Land of Israel that are under Israeli control.
• Israeli law and jurisdiction will be immediately extended over the local and regional municipalities in Judea and Samaria.
• Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, will be preserved in its entirety under Israeli sovereignty. The party will expedite the strengthening and development of Jewish settlement in all parts of the city.
• The party will work to prevent the erosion of Israeli sovereignty and to enforce the nation's laws, in Jerusalem in general, and on the Temple Mount in particular.

3. Foreign Policy and Security

• The right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel is inseparably intertwined with their right to peace and security.
• After the constant and consistent Arab violations of the Oslo, Wye and Hevron agreements, after the failure of the Camp David Accord, after the Oslo and Second Lebanon wars that claimed so many victims, and after the rise of Hamas to power in the Palestinian Authority - it is necessary to view all the agreements and commitments to the PA signed by the State of Israel as null and void.
• There will be no establishment of a foreign state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
• The State of Israel must strive to achieve peace agreements with all of its neighbors, but not at the price of security for its citizens.
• The party will act to solidify the national camp around a realistic regional peace plan.
• The party deplores and condemns the uprooting and forced transfer of thousands of Jews from their homes in Gush Katif and northern Samaria, the destruction of their vibrant communities and the burning of their synagogues.
• There will be no uprooting of Jewish communities and no surrender of parts of the Land of Israel in any subsequent Israeli government led by the party.

4. Education

• The party will raise education to its proper place - as a top national priority. Resources will be invested in closing educational gaps and improving the achievement levels of Israeli pupils, by placing an emphasis on nurturing character and personality in the pupils and developing their creativity.
• Education in Jewish heritage and Zionist values will be deepened in every school in Israel, religious and non-religious alike.
• The meal-production program will be reinstated, and a long school day will be instituted in appropriate locations.
• The standing of Israeli teachers will be improved, reserving the most qualitative individual for education and giving them incentives to join this field.
• Parents' payments will be cancelled, and the Free Education Law will be enforced in both general and religious educational systems.
• The party will prevent detriment to the ideological and structural independence of state-religious education.
• The party will block any plan to close any programs that combine torah study with army duty, and will continue their development.
• The party will continue the development of youth movements that educate towards and embody Jewish and Zionistic values.

5. The Supreme Court

• The status of the legislative branch of government will be enhanced, and the erosion of the Knesset by the Courts' incursion into its domain will be stopped.
• As long as the existing violations of the balance between the judicial, the executive and the legislative branches are not corrected by legislation, the party will object to a constitution that gives the Supreme Court the authority to nullify laws.
• The party will support changes in the method of choosing Supreme Court judges.

6. Economics and Society

• A healthy economy is a means to maintaining a civilized society founded on principles of morality, social justice and the avoidance of exploitation of the individual.
• The party will act to safeguard the stability of the economy while striving to reduce Israel's economic dependence on the United States.
• The party will implement an economic policy that will ensure the continued growth of the economy and increase productivity and output.
• Assistance will be extended to manufacturers, particularly those involved in industrial exports and the high tech industry.
• Improvements will be made in the handling of factories that are struggling financially.
• Resources will be invested in the development of tourism centers, in promoting incoming tourism and internal tourism, and in supporting tourism in rural areas and at archaeological sites.

7. The Struggle against Poverty

• The party will act to reduce unemployment.
• The party will lead the way in concern for the elderly, the handicapped, and the underprivileged and alienated youth.
• The party will act to institute negative income tax, to increase minimum wage and to return old age pensions to their former level.
• The Women's organization Emunah will be expanded and developed, more day care centers will be opened and the cost to parents will be lessened.

8. Housing Assistance

• The supply of reasonably priced housing possibilities will be expanded for large families, young couples, released soldiers, new immigrants and yeshiva students.
• Mortgages will be offered at preferred rates to young couples who have served in the army or have done National Service.
• The party will make every effort to solve the housing problem of the younger generation in Israel by way of: land rezoning, building associations and government actions that will provide more affordable housing.

9. Fighting Corruption

• The party sees fairness and credibility as essential elements of a clean administration and will aspire to be an example of truth, humility and personal and public integrity.
• In order to prevent moral corruption in Public life in Israel, the party will ensure that transparency is improved and will work to prevent conflicts of interest.

10. Justice

• The party will act to erase the disgraceful abandonment of the Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard, who has been languishing in an American jail for over two decades.
• The evacuation-compensation law will be changed and the injustice done to the Jewish refugees from Gush Katif will be corrected.
• A concentrated effort will be made immediately to rehabilitate those who have been uprooted: in employment, housing, education and in whatever else is necessary.
• The party will act to reinstate Child Allowance, under the framework of the National Insurance Institute, for parents who have served in the army or have done National Service.