Michael Kleiner.
Michael Kleiner (born
April 4 1948 in Munich
, Germany
) is an
Israeli
politician and leader of Herut – The National
Movement.
He first
entered the Knesset
in 1981 as a
Likud parliamentarian but, upon then Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
relinquishing Hebron
to the
Palestinian Authority, Kleiner
split off from the Likud along with Benny
Begin (Menachem Begin's son) and
David Re'em to establish Herut – The National
Movement, based on the original Herut. The three enjoyed the political support
of former Prime Minister
Yitzhak
Shamir and long-time
Revisionist author and original Herut
Knesset member
Shmuel Katz, which
greatly legitimized their use of the name Herut. They initially ran
for the 15th Knesset as part of the
National Union block together with
Tkuma and
Moledet but
after the poor electoral showing of only four seats, Begin resigned
from politics and Kleiner assumed the party's leadership.
Eventually breaking off from the National Union, Kleiner and Herut
failed to be re-elected in the 2003 election.
Michael Kleiner is well known in Israel for his uncompromising
views on retaining territory reclaimed in the 1967
Six Day War and his attempts at solving Israel's
demographic issue. He has earned a reputation as one of Israel's
hardest working parliamentarians and was one of the few Knesset
members to initiate an open door policy (another was
Yossi Sarid) to the public. While Kleiner was a
member of Knesset, all Israeli citizen were able to approach his
office with personal, family or financial difficulties in hopes
that he would use his position to intervene on their behalf with
government institutions. Acknowledged in Israeli politics as being
above the smell of corruption, Kleiner is widely viewed as a
throwback to the classic secular Revisionists of previous decades.
Like Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, Kleiner's strong Jewish
nationalism stems more from the teachings of
Zev Jabotinsky whose philosophy is centered
on the Torah's promise of Israel being the eternal home of the
Jewish People as well as the heritage of the crown of King David
belonging to the Jewish people.
Michael
Kleiner has consistently acted to thwart the Israeli government's
destruction of Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip
and West
Bank
although he has failed to garner the policial
support of most religious Israeli settlers. Since their sensed betrayal by
Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon in the
summer of 2005, the settler community has become increasingly weary
of secular nationalist politicians. Even from outside the Knesset,
Kleiner has continued to work for his public agenda. A major part
of his strategic view for Israel's survival is a proposal to offer
residents of Israel willing to move to an Arab country a financial
package similar to that given to Jewish immigrants to Israel.
Kleiner is generally disliked by Arab and liberal groups in Israel
who, while accusing him of racism, begrudgingly acknowledge his
humility and political integrity. He has not been a member of the
16th or 17th Knessets because his party did not meet the minimum
vote requirement.
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