The various parties in the Knesset held today (Monday) the traditional faction meetings, at the beginning of which the leaders of the parties gave statements to the media. Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, He attacked the designated government at the entrance of his assistant’s yeshiva and said: “This is no longer a political struggle, it is a struggle for the soul of Israel.” Labor chairman Marev Michaeli She added: “A government that promotes racism and shames the Knesset, Zionism and Israel.”
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Yair Lapid against Benjamin Netanyahu: “This is not a political struggle – it is a struggle for the soul of democracy.” Photo: Knesset Channel
Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, He attacked the designated government at the opening of the Yesh Atid yeshiva yeshiva and said that “what we are seeing in recent days is not coalition negotiations, it is looting. Looting of the public purse, looting of democratic values. Looting that humiliates us in front of the whole world.”
According to him, “This is no longer a political struggle. It is a struggle for the soul of the State of Israel as a Jewish state, as a democratic state, as a sane state. If anyone thinks that this will stop the formation of the government, they are completely wrong. It never stops. It never has – anywhere In the world, at no time in history – religious and nationalist extremism that said one day on its own initiative, ‘That’s it, I’ve had enough, I’m stopping’.
“An extremist religious and nationalist government does not have a moment when it says, ‘It’s time to consider people who think differently.’ to loot the country. We have already seen governments established in Israel. What is happening here is not a normal event. What we have before our eyes is the weakest prime minister that has ever been here, and a government in disorder. This is not a full-on right-wing government, it is a full-on madness government. We have no intention to sit quietly while it dismantles the State of Israel from within,” he added.
Benjamin Netanyahu responds to Yair Lapid: “You refuse to accept the people’s decision.” Photo: Likud spokespeople
Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu He replied to Lapid and said: “Lapid, losing the elections is not the end of democracy, it is the essence of democracy. You refuse to accept the people’s decision. You are revolting the public against the people’s decision, you are spreading endless lies against the elected government. What will be your next step? To send the protesters Is yours to climb the Knesset fences? So I call on you to act responsibly, accept the people’s decision, transfer power in an orderly manner so that we can fix everything you have destroyed in the last year and a half.”
Chairman of the Labor Party, Minister Marev Michaeli It was also valid at the faction meeting: “The government that Bibi and the Smotrichs are establishing promotes racism by law; they are taking us from the Zionist vision of Ben Gurion to the racist vision of Smotritz – under the auspices of a criminal defendant who wants to escape justice.”
“Zionism is the opposite of racism. Zionism stems from the belief in equality between girls and men, the Zionist vision strives for equality. It is what led those who built this miracle here, the State of Israel. And this, the Zionist vision, is the only thing that will keep the State of Israel what it must be – A Jewish and democratic state. Without the Zionist vision, the State of Israel would not exist here.”
“But the government that Bibi and the Smotrichs are establishing is doing the exact opposite. A government that promises to cancel the ban on racists running for the Israeli Knesset.
A government that promises to abolish the ban on discrimination based on race, sex, origin, sexual orientation. A government that promotes racism by law.”
“The truth is that you have already canceled this ban, look at yourselves – racists, and you are in the Knesset. You shame the Knesset, you shame the State of Israel, you shame Zionism. You carry the name of Zionism in vain. And you are the first to know that it is forbidden to carry The name is in vain. This is not Zionism, this is racism. You are taking us from the Zionist vision of Ben-Gurion to the racist vision of Smotritz – under the auspices of a criminal defendant who wants to escape justice.”
“This is how you turn Israel into a racist state. You also carry the name of the majority in vain. This is really not what the majority of the Israeli public wants. The majority of citizens of Israel are disgusted by this talk. They trusted you that you would take care of their problems and instead you only care about chairs, properties , to your prejudices and combinations”.
“The Labor Party is today the party that carries the flag of egalitarian and democratic Zionism in the Israeli Knesset and we will continue to fight and build, until it is Zionism that returns to lead the State of Israel,” concluded Michaeli.
Benny Gantz (Photo: Mark Israel Salem)After that, a meeting of the faction of the state camp was held in Petha, addressed by the Minister of Defense Benny Gantz to the ultra-orthodox members of the Knesset and warned them: “The price of turning Israel from Jewish to religious will be heavy – you will be hurt more than anyone else by the policy of coercion and racism.”
“I am back here from the funeral of Rabbi Druckman, whose student I was also privileged to be. His historical consciousness that was shaped during his childhood in the Holocaust shaped his actions for the State of Israel. His educational enterprises, which I had the privilege of both learning from and contributing to their continued existence as the Minister of Defense, built and will continue to build an important legacy here I didn’t always agree with the rabbi, but I always had a listening ear and an important voice that is now silent. May his memory be blessed.”
“Today, on the eve of the establishment of the new government, I would like to appeal to my ultra-Orthodox brothers. I know that most of you see yourself as an integral part of Israeli society. That many, men and especially women, are integrating more and more into the employment market. That many are enlisting in the security, rescue and grace forces.”
“And I ask you in the face of things – is your heart back? What you are doing and giving a hand to in these days seeks to transform Israel from a Jewish state to a religious state. From the Jewish state to a tribal state. And the result – will be harm to Judaism, harm to religion, and harm to Israeli society as a whole.
“When you seek to enact a basic Torah study law whose true purpose is to regulate the blanket exemption from service to the people and the state – you bring about the destruction of the People’s Army and not the strengthening of Torah study. When you do not support those who want to go out to work and study and deny them the required skills, including core studies – you are harming society And in the Israeli economy, which at the end of the day will collapse under the load.”
“Rabbi Akiva said -“You caught a rifle you didn’t catch”. The attempt to shape Israel as a religious state – will harm Israel as a Jewish state. The attempt to expropriate the appointment of the chief military rabbi from the hands of the Chief of Staff – will harm the delicate balance of the position that controls many areas and many believers, and the ability of the rabbi the main to fulfill his mission. This would be another security breach.
“The whitewashing of racism in the Knesset, and the institutional anchoring of discrimination – will result in severe damage to Israeli democracy. It condemns you to the tribe and not to kindness. Many dozens of clauses in the coalition agreement distance you from the general public. Harming the minorities led by the racists in the government – will first of all turn on you. It is up to you to behave responsibly and fairly – The price of coercion will be hard and heavy.”
“Your honor, I know the saying as if I would give the ultra-Orthodox a blank page to fill out in order to become prime minister. Well – a blank page perhaps – I would never wave a white flag. This is what is happening now both in front of them and in front of religious Zionism. A white flag of surrender and the loss of security – would not have been leveraged, no matter what the price was. Giving up the IDF as the people’s army would not have passed on my watch. That’s what I’ve said over the years, that’s what I’m saying now.
“It is possible to reach agreements, we need to reach an agreed service outline with significant concessions in which everyone serves the people and the state – and preserves his way of life. Instead of following the old methods, with exemptions, grants, inventing basic laws – we need to follow the king’s way that will unite the state and the tribes and not the Divide and rule”.
“My ultra-Orthodox brothers – the democratic, social, security, and economic bankruptcy that we are witnessing will gnaw at the heart of the country as well as its Judaism. On the day when hotels are announced for seculars only, on the day when workplaces proudly announce that they do not accept ultra-Orthodox, on the day when a member of the Knesset is elected to the Knesset who denies your right to live according to your custom – Remember that you were part of the mechanism that whitewashes the harm to minorities. That disintegrates us into tribes. I hope and pray that we don’t get there.
“Remember these coalition negotiations – which turns out above all to be a campaign to dismantle Israeli society. You – will be the ones who will be hurt the most. This is a time for decisions. I claim that we are brothers, that you are an integral part of the Israeli public and not a separatist tribe. But partnership also comes with responsibility.” .