First day of Knesset overshadowed by talk of elections
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu devoted his 40-minute speech at the
festive opening of the session by listing his government’s diplomatic,
security and economic accomplishments.
The Knesset opened its winter session on Monday amid speculation about
when the parliament will be dispersed and when the next election will be
initiated.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu devoted his 40-minute speech at the
festive opening of the session by listing his government’s diplomatic,
security and economic accomplishments and criticizing the opposition.“It
is not our democracy that has been lost, as the opposition says, but
the Leftocracy,” Netanyahu said, coining a new word. “The opposition is
disconnected from the nation.
Arab and left-wing MKs heckled Netanyahu, not taking the advice of
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who prior to the prime minister’s speech
said “Whether or not it is an election year, I will not permit the
Knesset to become a circus.”
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni reacted to the prime minister’s speech by
referring to the criminal investigations against him and saying that he
deserved an indictments for his government’s missed opportunities.
Earlier, at weekly faction meetings, party heads took turns reacting to
Sunday night’s decision of the Agudat Yisrael Council of Torah Sages to
compromise on the controversial haredi (ultra-Orthodox) enlistment law
and not cause an early election.
“The decision of the rabbis was balanced, smart and responsible,”
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman told his Yisrael Beytenu faction.
“Anyone looking for an excuse to advance the election will have to look
for another excuse. The draft bill will pass even if [Agudat Yisrael]
votes against it, and there won’t be a reason to leave the
coalition.”But Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon told his Kulanu faction
that they would only support the bill if there are no changes made to
the legislation that was written by the IDF.
“The bill isn’t intended to resolve coalition disputes,” Kahlon said.
“If the bill isn’t acceptable to the army, we won’t support it.”
Education Minister Naftali Bennett told his Bayit Yehudi faction that he
is satisfied with the current government, and he believes the next
election should be held on time in November 2019.
Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay said the government could be toppled but
won’t be, because Yesh Atid supports the conscription bill, which he
called “the draft evasion bill.”
Lapid told The Jerusalem Post at his Yesh Atid faction meeting that he
supported the bill, because it would help haredim by bringing them into
the army and the work force. He mocked Netanyahu for cancelling Sunday’s
weekly meeting of coalition party heads, because the prime minister and
his ministers were waiting for the verdict of the rabbis.
“They didn’t even pretend,” Lapid said. “They waited for their real bosses.”
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