The demand of senior Likud members, led by the movement's chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, to disqualify the "New Likudniks" group, puts the party members in contradiction, especially when they claim and are proud that they are the only Israeli party that is democratic.
Tagging that group as "left-wing, dangerous and extremist," whose agenda is to take over the Likud movement in order to eliminate it, is not only untrue, but an injustice.
The injustice is also towards the same group, but also towards the Likud members in general, because the movement has tens of thousands of functionaries, from all corners of Israeli society, who do not always speak with one voice but see it as a political and ideological home.
The essence of a liberal and democratic party, with a broad, clear and solid public and ideological base, especially a party that has been in power for many years, is to accept the diversity of opinions and the variety of currents.
If a party alienates a person who wants to accept its ideological lines but act as it sees fit in order to influence and change, it will be a sign that it is beginning to fear and is unable to deal with different opinions.
The essence of a democratic party is pluralism, and the expression of opinions and persuasion of others in order to accumulate as broad a public base as possible, and to translate it into votes in elections and thus gain the ability to influence.
If this foundation is harmed, there will be no justification for the existence of the party, and this framework will be superfluous, because it is the nature of a person who will want to influence.
If he is faced with a possibility of this kind, democracy will also be harmed, and not later than the day it is eliminated.
The "New Likudniks" group, which was formed about a decade ago following the cost-of-living protest, is driven by the desire to make an impact.
It does not hide its intentions or its people, and it has a pattern similar to other groups in the population, which try to influence politics and function for certain parties.
This was the essence of the kibbutz movement and the moshavim and the Arab and Druze youths, who worked in the Labor Party in order to influence the choice of their representatives in realistic places for the Knesset.
The problem of any party, not just the Likud, is to make the party irrelevant and devoid of institutions or powers.
Then the functioning public will stay away from it because it will lose interest, and the party will eventually lose the broad public support, similar to governing parties that have evaporated and disappeared at once.
The debate and dialogue that exists in each party signifies how important it is to the public.
Any party that wants life, which wants to survive, grow and influence, must open its ranks to everyone who is interested and to everyone who accepts its platform and meets the rules.
Otherwise we will be left with parties that contain only one type of people.
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