First the Egged and Dan bus companies rejected the Kadima Party election ad campaign because they felt it was too provocative against chareidim.

Kadima officials see things somewhat differently, responding to the attacks by simply stating the campaign is not targeting chareidim. They refer to calls by Rav Yisrael Eichler to the Central Election Committee to disqualify the election campaign, for Eichler feels; (1) it targets avreichim and (2) it is untrue, since the campaign states avreichim receive 3,400 NIS in monthly government stipends when that some is grossly exaggerated.

Kadima feels that Eichler’s request is a dangerous one, for he is “seriously trying to hamper basic freedom of speech rights”, rejecting Eichler’s claims the ad campaign is “anti-Semitic”. MK Yochanan Plesner, who spearheaded the committee working to draft new legislation towards drafting chareidim added “MK Eichler’s insolence regarding the Kadima campaign compelling a comparison between the salaries of soldiers and avreichim signals that in his eyes, a soldier is not entitled to more than some miserable spending money while avreichim receive benefits amounting to thousands of NIS monthly.”

Plesner adds “In Eichler’s view, anyone who is concerned with IDF soldiers is an anti-Semite, nothing less, as if we are speaking about two different nations.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)