Israel – Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid warned voters Sunday that if re-elected, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would cancel legislation Yesh Atid passed that encourages haredi (ultra-Orthodox) enlistment and entering the work force.
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Speaking to a crowd of more than 1000 young immigrants from English speaking countries organized by the Tel Aviv International Salon, Lapid said Netanyahu would also cancel other Yesh Atid initiatives like limiting the number of ministers, extending daylight savings time, and funds for students.
“He will take money away from students and the middle class and give it to remote settlements,” Lapid warned.
Lapid said that by contrast if Yesh Atid is allowed to remain the largest faction in the Knesset, reforms started in the ministries the party controlled would be able to come to fruition.
“Everything is ready for after the election,” he said. “If we are given the car keys, we are ready to drive. We can start within a day. It’s doable, it’s workable. This started as the most unnecessary election of all time but now it’s become crucial because we can bring real change.”
When told that he promised change when he spoke to the same group ahead of last year’s election, he said Holocaust survivors and others Yesh Atid helped would say he has made dramatic changes.
Lapid indicated that he would decide Yesh Atid’s candidate list just ahead of the January 29 deadline when he was asked whether American-born MK Dov Lipman would be given a realistic slot on the party’s list.
“We haven’t dealt with that yet, because we want our family to get along,” he said.
Channel 10 reported Sunday night that former welfare minister Moshe Kahlon’s Koolanu party would also reveal its candidates at the last minute. A source in the party denied the report.
But the possible delay in Yesh Atid and Koolanu revealing their lists raised speculation that they could decide at the last moment to run together. Polls have indicated that a joint list could become the largest Knesset faction, especially if the list was led by Kahlon.
“I don’t care about combinations,” Lapid said: “If the best way for me to help the country is to not be # 1 in Yesh Atid but to be number 46 in Shas, I’ll be number 46 in Shas.”
He also joked that he did not need to remain in politics. “Being on TV was fun,” he said. “I made a lot of money and nobody fired me.”
Lapid suggested that Netanyahu fired him because he succeeded. He said the same happened to Kahlon and to former Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
The event was part of a series of events with politicians hosted by the Tel Aviv International Salon, a non-partisan organization that bills itself as the largest English-language speakers’ forum in Israel.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post