Chairman of the Democratic Israel party, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, on Sunday announced that if he enters the next coalition government, it will have to agree to civil weddings and pubic transportation on Shabbos within a year of forming the coalition.

Barak stated, “After long years of bleeding without hope in Lebanon, in 1999, I undertook that if elected, I would bring the boys home to Israel. There were no shortage of objections, but I committed myself. Today, I pledge to return democracy to Israel as well”.

Clearly, with his statements, Barak said ‘good bye’ to any deal with a chareidi party, as he added, “We will say ‘yes’ to Yiddishkeit, but ‘no’ to religious coercion. We commit to cancel the religionization of the education system, to implement civil marriage within a year and to operate public buses on Shabbos”

“One can love it or not. One thing is for certain – that when I promise, I deliver. My promise in 99 to bring the boys home from Lebanon to Israel. I promised and I delivered. Today, I promise to bring back democracy to Israel”.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)