Israel Matzav: An alliance born in sin is coming to an end

Sunday, April 27, 2014

An alliance born in sin is coming to an end

The alliance between the Yesh Atid and Jewish Home parties, which was always and solely about trying to bring about the demise of Haredi Judaism in Israel (the only thing on which they ever agreed), appears to be coming to an end. Here are some choice quotes.

“Yesh Atid doesn’t have an alliance with the Bayit Yehudi,” Peri said on Channel 2’s Meet the Press.

Peri blasted Economy Minister Naftali Bennett’s party over its stances on negotiations with the Palestinians.

“There is an abyss between Yesh Atid and the Bayit Yehudi, which has made delusional proposals and tried to sabotage negotiations, on both diplomatic issues and religion and state,” Peri said.

The two parties formed an alliance before the coalition was formed last year, forcing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s hand into including both of them in his government. The party’s chairmen, Yair Lapid and Bennett, formed a close partnership at the time, leading them to be nicknamed “brothers,” but it deteriorated over differences in opinion on religious and diplomatic affairs.

Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman Ayelet Shaked said that “every Saturday on Meet the Press another left-wing minister attacks Bayit Yehudi."

“You know what it’s like to build a career on having a partner for peace [in the Palestinians] and then the partner runs away? It’s tough for them. Maybe they need a Plan B,” she quipped.

Similarly, a Bayit Yehudi spokesman said “the Left should try to keep its cool even when it’s in crisis.”

Meanwhile, the Leftist parties in opposition are urging Yesh Atid and the Tzipi Livni party to withdraw. And they also had some choice words for Netanyahu.

Opposition leader MK Yitzchak Herzog (Labor) on Saturday night launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his coalition, blaming them for the collapse of the peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

In a post on his Facebook page, Herzog called on Netanyahu to “initiate a comprehensive and courageous offer” to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

"In recent days, I spoke with the Prime Minister, with Abbas, with [American mediator] Martin Indyk and others, and my impression is that the situation is volatile and very sensitive and we must not take irreversible and potentially harmful steps,” he wrote.

Herzog attacked Netanyahu and wrote that the Israeli government is a "government that is dragged and not a government that takes an initiative. Netanyahu has no plan. He does not know where Israel will be a decade from now.”

He called on the Prime Minister to place on the table "a comprehensive and courageous offer that will win international support, while insisting that the Palestinian government that will be formed recognize Israel and meet the conditions of the international community.”

Elections in September? I'd bet on it. Heh.

Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jewish Home party, Middle East peace process, Naftali Bennett, Tzipi Livni, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party