As Israel’s Labor Party busies itself with internal elections, one candidate, former journalist and current MK Shelly Yacimovich explains one does not have to be anti religious to take the election.
The party’s primaries is set for next week, and according to a Channel 2 Sarid Institute poll headed by Dr. Miri Sarid, Yacimovich will emerge the victor in that election, with 42% of the vote. Second place will go to Amir Peretz, who was viewed as a failure in his post as defense minister during the Second Lebanon War, with a predicted 25% of the vote. Yitzchak Herzog will take third place with 16%, Amram Mitzne (15%) and Arel Margalit (2%).
The poll adds that even if Yacimovich fails to earn the required 40% in the first round, she would wipe Peretz out in an elimination vote with 67%.
It should be pointed out that despite Yacimovich’s liberal agenda, during her term in Knesset as a Labor MK she has refrained from verbally attacking chareidim and when she did comment, she did so by addressing facts, not with sweeping generalizations depicting frum Yidden in a negative light as do many MKs. On occasion, she has cooperated with chareidi lawmakers as well.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
In terms of economics, most of the frum community in Israel tends to have an agenda that is very similar to the Socialists — give us lots of benefits, and rely on someone else to pay the money into the system. This is rather irresponsible, and in the long run, disasterous. If the Israeli socialists abandonned their Marxist roots, and gave up on some very dubious left wing beliefs (like supporting abortion, gays, pornography, etc.), they could very easily work with frum politicians and voters.
Of course, they would jointly bankrupt the country and undermine its ability to survive (anyone for learning Turkish?)