Dozens of young people, activists and party members from Yesh Atid demonstrated Friday in Tel Aviv, demanding that “Bibi [Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – ed.] cannot sell out our country.”
The demonstration specifically protested the coalition agreement between Likud and United Torah Judaism, which includes clauses to cancel criminal sanctions against haredi students and work toward canceling laws enforcing the mandatory draft on haredim.
“Israel is backtracking,” Chairman Yair Lapid insisted at the protest. “What we see today is a clearance sale of everything important in Israeli society.”
Contrary to popular perception, he said, “I have no argument with the haredim. They do what they always have done.”
“What I am against is Netanyahu, who gave in the coalition agreement of UTJ a NIS 4.5 billion package that could go to education and health.”
“I have claims against [Jewish Home chairman Naftali] Bennett and to [Defense Minister Moshe] Ya’alon, who give a hand to cancel the haredi draft law and enable equality discrimination between blood and blood,” he added. “Netanyahu is betraying the values of the nationalist camp and doing a liquidation sale of all what is important to the State of Israel.”
Lapid stressed that Yesh Atid “will not remain silent, we will be strong and resolute in the Opposition, we will not allow a liquidation sale of all state matters, we will go to the streets, we will turn to the court, fight in the Knesset. They cannot sell out the country.”
MK Karin Elharar, also came to join the demonstration, said, “Netanyahu’s leadership recognized the voters and the citizens of this country in a cynical bid to remain prime minister. This is the narrow politics we fight in the Opposition.”