After receiving a tongue lashing by Likud for criticizing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s “weakness” during Operation Protective Edge, Hatnua Chairwoman Tzipi Livni is back in the ring with more critiques.
Livni, who is running in the March elections with the Labor party, spoke Sunday at the prestigious Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa to high school students.
Addressing Netanyahu’s call to French Jews to immigrate to Israel, Livni criticized his reasons for why Jews around the world should make aliyah.
“Israel needs to be a symbol for every Jew in the world as not only a safe haven, but also of Zionism and moral values,” she said.
“Jews should not immigrate because it is a safe haven. I want them to make aliyah despite the concrete barriers in Jerusalem, despite the fact that we have to fight terror. I want them to come because of Zionism.”
Livni then went on to criticize the call itself, which she says will do nothing to enhance the security of Jews living in Europe.
“The events in Paris do not only involve Jews and are not just their problem. This is a global struggle against extremist Islamic terrorism and we need to enlist the world to fight against it too,” she stated.
“Israel must work smarter – not to worry about whether they [the rest of the world] understand what we go through, rather how to join an international coalition for the defense of our shared values.”
“We are part of the free and democratic world,” Livni stressed.
Livni concluded by making a connection between the events in France and her latest hot button issue – Netanyahu’s weaknesses.
“Some of those involved in terrorism exploited Israel’s political weakness during Netanyahu’s tenure [as prime minister],” she stated, echoing comments she made at a cultural event Saturday about the Prime Minister’s diplomatic failings during Operation Protective Edge.
“I do not believe in talking with Hamas; it is a terrorist organization. But we must act against them with strength – not just with military force, but also in in the international political arena.”
At the event Saturday, Livni slammed Netanyahu for not mobilizing the rest of the world to stand with Israel through a return to negotiations and an international coalition against Hamas.
“This opportunity was missed because Netanyahu hesitated and stuttered. The result is that today we are facing attacks – the UN resolution against Israel and the PA joining the International Criminal Court to bring claims against the IDF. We could have prevented it,” she stated.
Likud responded in a statement that “the IDF struck Hamas the hardest blow since its inception,” during Operation Protective Edge, adding “Livni never misses the opportunity to point a finger at Israel and stand by Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority.”
