As many in the Israeli government are simply calling for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s resignation, Moledet Member of Knesset Arieh Eldad is ensuring another Olmert-like failure doesn’t arise in future generations.

Arieh Eldad is the founder of the new Zionist youth movement in Israel, Ami Chai. As the father figure of the movement he describes the current situation in Israel as a “leadership crisis,” and recognized the need for a youth movement that justified the right wing stance in Israel without having to be religious. With a plethora of left wing Israeli youth groups and a number of right wing religious groups, he is making Ami Chai an educational and social outlet for non-religious Zionists. Eldad says he agrees with many aspects of religious Zionist groups like Bnei Akiva, “but you can’t join if you don’t wear a kippah.” Ami Chai welcomes religious youth because it aims not to be exclusive.

Eldad noticed the need for Ami Chai after he debated MK Yossi Beilin on possible resolutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict in 31 non-religious schools. Eldad presented the right wing idea of a population transfer and Beilin presented the left wing idea of land for peace. The students would then vote for the resolution they supported and Eldad only lost at one school. From this Eldad knew that there was a non-religious youth population that generally supported the right wing. He believes the time in the army sometimes turns these youth to the left wing after their service, Eldad says that “even though they are right wing in their views of the Arab-Israeli conflict, they leave the army with not knowing why and they drift back to the left.” He wants Ami Chai to be able to educate the kids on the history of Israel, the conflict, and the Jewish right to live in all of Israel.

Eldad believes the Israeli school system does a poor job in teaching kids their nation’s history and their claim to Israel. When growing up he says the Israeli school system didn’t teach him anything about Zionism or Jewish history, he learned everything from his father. Israel Eldad is a distinguished Israeli philosopher and was a founding member of Lehi or Fighters for the Freedom of Israel. Arieh Eldad claims, “If I wasn’t educated at my father’s home then I wouldn’t know what I know today.” When asked how strong of an influence his father had on him, Eldad answered, “All my ideology comes directly from him.” Through his father’s Revisionist Zionist direction, Eldad hopes to give the kids of Ami Chai the educational basis to their right wing political inclinations.

The Ami Chai youth movement is not all about politics. It aims to provide the kids with the tools and practice to become leaders in their communities and in Israeli society. Through community service, volunteer work, and recreational activities such as hiking trips, Ami Chai looks to give the kids the training to be the leaders of the future. Eldad describes the foundation of the Ami Chai movement, “We raise two flags. One of the political and one of community service and recreation.” Through these two flags he hopes Ami Chai will attract large numbers of the Israeli youth.

While Eldad was getting ready to go to the ceremony of the swearing in of the new Israeli president Shimon Peres, he had to fasten a flower pin to his blazer. With the blazer on his desk he placed the flower on the right lapel of the blazer and then caught himself and said that he did it incorrectly. When asked why the flower was wrong, insightfully he replied, “It goes on the left. That’s the way it goes around here, everything to the left.”