As the country is being prepared for a heated electoral campaign Yair Lapid stated in his maiden speech as premier on Saturday that the deep political differences and divisions in Israel must not prevent us Jews from working together, and they must not stand in our way to achieve shared goals to make our country better.
The speech served as a sort of mission statement for Lapid. He continued that the mission was a Jewish, democratic, liberal, strong, advanced, and prosperous Israel.
The State of Israel is bigger than all of us, Lapid said. More important than any of us. It was here before us, and will stand long after us. It doesn’t belong only to us. It belongs to those who dreamed of it for thousands of years in the Diaspora, and also to those yet to be born, to future generations.
he added that, Israelis have always had disagreements among themselves the question is how we manage them, and how we make sure these disagreements don’t manage us.
Lapid called polarization a challenge at hand and he went on saying that in Israel, extremism doesn’t come from the streets to politics. It flows like lava from politics to the streets. The political sphere has become more and more extreme, violent and vicious, and it’s dragging Israeli society along with it.
He said we are brothers. In order to create a common good here, we need one another. We did everything to build a Jewish and democratic, strong and advanced, benevolent and good Israel. Only together will we prevail.
He expressed that Israel stretches its hand to all the peoples of the Middle East, including the Palestinians, and says: the time has come for you to recognize that we’ll never move from here, let’s learn to live together.
In his speech, Lapid also referred to Israel’s ties with the diaspora and very implicitly called for the international community in the fight against antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel.
Israel is strong? Absolutely. We have a great army? No doubt. But is our community really united?
What is this idea of living together? Are you seriously Jewish? If you are truly Jews then you better know that living with terrorist Arabs is impossible. Our flag represents love and peace, while their flag represents murder and Jew-hatred.
We have a problem with Palestinians who don’t recognize the Israel. With those who don’t recognize us as Jews who belong here. We see them as murderers for all intents and purposes.
They’re after our blood, and are terrorists by nature. Anyone who supports Palestine is a potential terrorist it’s that simple.
The true settlers of the holy land have learned their lessons the hard way that to acquire freedom, unity, peace, wisdom and power in their Jewish society they need to vote for the right faithful party.
