Consistent with his position all along, Liberman at a press conference Wednesday insisted on a unity government, consisting of his party, the Likud, and Blue and White. “Any other kind of government will have difficulty functioning,” he said. “It will turn into a contest for survival on a weekly basis. I did everything I could, I left no stone unturned” in trying to convince Binyamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz to form such a government, he said. “They even offered me the position of Prime Minister in the final year of the government, but I am standing on my principles. I will not sell them for a government position.”
Spicing his comments liberally with anti-chareidi comments, Liberman had said that he would join a government led by either man, as long as they compromised sufficiently to allow for formation of a unity government. In the end, neither Netanyahu nor Gantz proved flexible enough for the task. “If we do end up in new elections it will be because of a lack of leadership. One of them [Gantz] refused to accept the framework offered by President Reuven Rivlin, and the other [Netanyahu] refused to give up his messianic-chareidi coalition.
“There is no alternative to a unity government,” Liberman said. “Netanyahu is enslaving the Likud to the chareidim. Torah learning is a wonderful thing, but it should be done at the expense of chareidim. We don’t need more than 1,500 avreichim.” In any event, both parties are to blame – Blue and White and the Likud together. On the other side of the equation, Liberman said that “it should have been clear to all that we would not enter a coalition with the United Arab List.”
Regarding how to avoid a third round of stalemate if new elections are held, Liberman said that “all the Zionist parties need to come to a single platform. In addition, I am a believer in direct election of the Prime Minister, but unfortunately we cannot change the rules in the middle of the game.”
The mandate for Blue an White head Benny Gantz to form a government is at midnight Wednesday. A last-ditch meeting between Netanyahu and Gantz Tuesday night failed to bridge the gaps between the two – and hours before Gantz’s mandate to form a government expires, senior members of Gantz’s Blue and White party told Kan News that “it appears we are going to elections.” The party is not counting on Avigdor Liberman to step in and support a minority government together with the United Arab List – if anything he is more likely to form a government with the Likud. “Liberman and Netanyahu could have closed a deal days ago,” the sources said.
Hamodia
Lieberman incited racist hateful remarks against the frum community. The article fails to highlight that.
ReplyDeleteSome of the main points he made include:
ReplyDelete• There must be a separation between religion and state. The chareidim cannot be permitted to continue moving between the two large parties and extorting money.
• There are 150,000 talmidim and avreichim. Limud torah is a welcome endeavor but just as there are 1,500 university students who receive a draft deferment, so it must be with those learning Torah. Do the math.
• I will not join a narrow government.
• Blue & White and Likud exchanged accusations but did not make decisions. Both sides are at fault.
• While I respect the president, I do not support his initiative.
• The nation is being held hostage by the Arabs and the chareidim and this is “the true anti-Zionist axis”.
• He mentioned the arrival of the Satmar Rebbe of Williamsburg in Israel this week, “to distribute millions of dollars”, calling on Israel’s Tax Authority to investigate this.
• This is an intolerable situation. I do not see the chareidi parties decrying or condemning the harsh statements made against the state and the IDF soldiers by Satmar.
• The Peleg Yerushalmi is worrisome, and the fact they received two seats in the Jerusalem City Council. The organization actively works against the state, and regularly attacks soldiers; both verbally and physically.
We spoke with the chareidim and it is simply like talking to the wall. We spoke about “a return to normalcy” and making concessions, but no one is listening. But we tried. The same regarding the Draft Bill, and when it was voted on, they deliberately left the Knesset plenum.
There was an understanding in the nation regarding giyur and the chareidim broke it as they violated the status quo with the Shabbos Supermarket Law.
Changes that must be made in the future to ensure governmental stability in the future.
• Changing the law for direct election of the PM.
• The development of a convention between the Zionist parties to redefine religion and state.
• If the PM cannot assemble a coalition in the 30 days allotted, he has the option to form a coalition of “experts” to serve for two years, to permit passing a state budget. This two can be disqualified by 2/3 of the Knesset. This will provide stability and permit the voters to know there is a PM and government for two years.
• Direct election of the PM. This cannot be done for the next election, for it demands serious discussion but the current format has to change.
once again Lieberman can’t say a true sentence
satmar have no problem with separation of religion in state
they would have no problem selling higher principles And overriding religion for the collective country’s masses for financial and political pork
The haredi parties did the diametric opposite of what bloggers incessantly And media diatribes all over the web for years has accused them of
they refuse to sell the collective faith for political and financial favours
one has to admire them here
Such a red herring
fraudulent the nth degree
also
Interesting how the Satmar rebbe compares Yahadut Hatorah to tzionim whereas Lieberman compares them to Satmar