In an effort to prevent Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid from becoming prime minister in the future, MK Yaakov Litzman is introducing a bill that states eligibility to serve as prime minister will include an academic degree, which Lapid does not.

Litzman has reason for concern, as polls during recent months place Yesh Atid as the largest or second largest body, behind Likud.

Litzman remains the only chareidi MK who continues to refuse to engage in conversation with Lapid, who he insists is an enemy of chareidim based on Lapid’s performance in the last Knesset when he served as Minister of Finance and insisted on draconian cuts to funding for Yeshivos and a new IDF law for bnei Torah. While Lapid has insisted he has learned from his mistakes and repented, Litzman feels this if far from reality.

According to a Walla News report, Litzman is advancing legislation that would compel a candidate for Prime Minister to have an academic degree or considerable years in the IDF command. Lapid was part of the IDF but only as a reporter for the army’s weekly newspaper, Bamahane.

Litzman’s actions also surround the eve of Lapid’s entry to the political arena. He billed himself as being in the midst of studies for his doctorate. The Council of Higher Education revealed this could not be so, since he did not have a bachelors. Lapid retorted, “What difference is there if I have a degree or not!”

While the legislation is unlikely to gain support in Knesset, it does signal that for MK Litzman, Lapid, who may be the leading candidate for next Prime Minister, is still viewed as an enemy, not an ally.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)