 |
||
 |
        |
 |
 |
||
| MP3 Radio | Website News Briefs: | |||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
 |
|
 |
1. Moussa: Camp David Accords 'Dead and Buried'
by Elad Benari
Amr Moussa, a frontrunner in the Egyptian presidential race, criticized the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt on Monday and said that “the Camp David accords were dead and buried long ago.”
Moussa, who spoke during a meeting with voters in the Sohag region in southern Egypt, said, “The Camp David agreements do not exist anymore. They are an historic document whose place is on the shelf. The purpose of the agreement with Israel was to establish an independent Palestinian government, whereas today we are talking about an independent Palestinian state.” His remarks were quoted by the Yisrael Hayom newspaper.
He stressed, however, that “as long as Israel respects the peace treaty with Egypt we will do so as well, even though the primary document which governs the relationship between Israel and the Arabs is the Arab initiative of 2002.” These remarks echo similar ones he has made in the past.
Moussa served as foreign minister in the government of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. He then went on to serve as the head of the Arab League, a position which he gave up last year in order to run for the Egyptian presidency.
A poll released on Monday by the Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper gave Moussa 41.1 percent of the votes in the poll. Presidential contender Abdel Moneim Abul-Fotouh, former Muslim Brotherhood leader, took 27.3 percent of the votes. Fotouh is receiving the backing of Salafists and Christians.
Ahmed Shafiq, a former prime minister in the Mubarak regime, came in third place in the poll and achieved 11.9 percent of votes.
Shafiq was disqualified from running last week, after the Islamist-dominated parliament passed a law barring former senior officials from the Mubarak regime from running for office. A day later, however, the election commission accepted his appeal and reinstated his candidacy.
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
Amr Moussa, a frontrunner in the Egyptian presidential race, criticized the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt on Monday and said that “the Camp David accords were dead and buried long ago.”
Moussa, who spoke during a meeting with voters in the Sohag region in southern Egypt, said, “The Camp David agreements do not exist anymore. They are an historic document whose place is on the shelf. The purpose of the agreement with Israel was to establish an independent Palestinian government, whereas today we are talking about an independent Palestinian state.” His remarks were quoted by the Yisrael Hayom newspaper.
He stressed, however, that “as long as Israel respects the peace treaty with Egypt we will do so as well, even though the primary document which governs the relationship between Israel and the Arabs is the Arab initiative of 2002.” These remarks echo similar ones he has made in the past.
Moussa served as foreign minister in the government of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. He then went on to serve as the head of the Arab League, a position which he gave up last year in order to run for the Egyptian presidency.
A poll released on Monday by the Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper gave Moussa 41.1 percent of the votes in the poll. Presidential contender Abdel Moneim Abul-Fotouh, former Muslim Brotherhood leader, took 27.3 percent of the votes. Fotouh is receiving the backing of Salafists and Christians.
Ahmed Shafiq, a former prime minister in the Mubarak regime, came in third place in the poll and achieved 11.9 percent of votes.
Shafiq was disqualified from running last week, after the Islamist-dominated parliament passed a law barring former senior officials from the Mubarak regime from running for office. A day later, however, the election commission accepted his appeal and reinstated his candidacy.
More on this topic
-
Egyptian Salafists Back Brotherhood Presidential Candidate -
Egyptian Women Appeal Sex-After-Death, Teen Marriage Laws
-
Egypt Allows Mubarak's Former PM to Run for President
-
Egypt's Anti-Mubarak Law Disqualifies Yet Another Candidate
-
Amr Moussa: Vote for Me, Egypt is in Crisis
-
Egypt Says Gas Agreement 'Suspended, Not Cancelled'
Comment on this story
2. Netanyahu: Decision on Elections Within Two Weeks
by Gabe Kahn
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday that a decision on whether to hold early elections will be made by the end of the next week.
Netanyahu, whose father died at the age of 102 on Monday, will be restriciting his official appearances for the next week as he observes the traditional Jewish first week of mourning known as "shiva."
Netanyahu told the Likud ministers during a morning meeting, saying the decision would follow after examining the "feasibility" of such a move.
The primary point of contention in the Likud-led coalition is Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's insistence on immediately nullifying the Tal Law, which would abolish exemptions to IDF service received by Israel's Hareidi community.
This morning, Netanyahu met in his office with Boaz loom, Eidan Miller, Joab Kish, Zohra Berger, and Yotam Berger who represent a movement among IDF reservists opposed to the Tal Law.
Netanyahu told them, "The division of the burden of service must be changed. It should not be as it is. This is our second meeting in recent months. I know there are a lot of opportunists who voted for the automatic extension of the Tal Law."
"I do not like that," he went on. "The Tal Law will be replaced by a more egalitarian and more just law. I will make it happen. The new law also will include national service for Arabs. This should be possible without the incitement of public figures."
However, Netanyahu said, “Such a change will involve expanding frameworks [for religious soldiers in the IDF] and increasing the budget. This is a high priority and falls within the needs of state security."
The Prime Minister said opponents of the renewal of the Tal Law have taken such a strong stance for immediate action that early elections are a distinct possibility.
Eidan Miller, who participated in the meeting with the Prime Minister, told Radio Kol Israel's "All Talk"" radio show with Yossi Hadar that Netanyahu stressed the Knesset is committed to enacting a replacement for the Tal Law.
He added that Netanyahu also told them that one "ultra-Orthodox" party understood that such change in Israeli society has become "inevitable."
Observers note that Netanyahu's reference to "expanded frameworks" and "increased budget" closely echoes previous statements made by Interior Minister Eli Yishai, the head of the Sephardic Hareidi party Shas.
The ruling Likud party is currently polling stronger than its present 27 seats, while its former chief rival, Kadima, is polling well below its present 28 seats.
Such a move could spell disaster for Defense Minister Ehud Barak, whose Independence Party has yet to poll well enough to be seated in the next Knesset should elections be held today.
Analysts say the conflict over the Tal Law between Netanyahu and Lieberman may not necessarily preclude the Prime Minister from including Lieberman's Yisrael Bateinu party - or Shas - in the next coalition.
A stronger Likud, they note, would be able to form a more ideologically homogeneous and stable coalition that could well exclude Hareidi parties opposed to the cancellation of the Tal Law.
Comment on this story
by Gabe Kahn
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday that a decision on whether to hold early elections will be made by the end of the next week.
Netanyahu, whose father died at the age of 102 on Monday, will be restriciting his official appearances for the next week as he observes the traditional Jewish first week of mourning known as "shiva."
Netanyahu told the Likud ministers during a morning meeting, saying the decision would follow after examining the "feasibility" of such a move.
The primary point of contention in the Likud-led coalition is Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's insistence on immediately nullifying the Tal Law, which would abolish exemptions to IDF service received by Israel's Hareidi community.
This morning, Netanyahu met in his office with Boaz loom, Eidan Miller, Joab Kish, Zohra Berger, and Yotam Berger who represent a movement among IDF reservists opposed to the Tal Law.
Netanyahu told them, "The division of the burden of service must be changed. It should not be as it is. This is our second meeting in recent months. I know there are a lot of opportunists who voted for the automatic extension of the Tal Law."
"I do not like that," he went on. "The Tal Law will be replaced by a more egalitarian and more just law. I will make it happen. The new law also will include national service for Arabs. This should be possible without the incitement of public figures."
However, Netanyahu said, “Such a change will involve expanding frameworks [for religious soldiers in the IDF] and increasing the budget. This is a high priority and falls within the needs of state security."
The Prime Minister said opponents of the renewal of the Tal Law have taken such a strong stance for immediate action that early elections are a distinct possibility.
Eidan Miller, who participated in the meeting with the Prime Minister, told Radio Kol Israel's "All Talk"" radio show with Yossi Hadar that Netanyahu stressed the Knesset is committed to enacting a replacement for the Tal Law.
He added that Netanyahu also told them that one "ultra-Orthodox" party understood that such change in Israeli society has become "inevitable."
Observers note that Netanyahu's reference to "expanded frameworks" and "increased budget" closely echoes previous statements made by Interior Minister Eli Yishai, the head of the Sephardic Hareidi party Shas.
The ruling Likud party is currently polling stronger than its present 27 seats, while its former chief rival, Kadima, is polling well below its present 28 seats.
Such a move could spell disaster for Defense Minister Ehud Barak, whose Independence Party has yet to poll well enough to be seated in the next Knesset should elections be held today.
Analysts say the conflict over the Tal Law between Netanyahu and Lieberman may not necessarily preclude the Prime Minister from including Lieberman's Yisrael Bateinu party - or Shas - in the next coalition.
A stronger Likud, they note, would be able to form a more ideologically homogeneous and stable coalition that could well exclude Hareidi parties opposed to the cancellation of the Tal Law.
Tags: Binyamin Netanyahu ,Tal Law ,elections
More on this topic
Comment on this story
3. Rivlin: This Will Be the Current Knesset's Last Session
by Elad Benari
Knesset Speaker MK Reuven Rivlin opened the Knesset’s summer session on Monday and spoke of the impending elections which will bring about the end of the 18th Knesset.
“This seems to be the last session of the current Knesset since the entire country, opposition and coalition, agrees that the Knesset should go for elections, so that the next Knesset will be able to decide on issues that are not simple in the life of our nation,” Rivlin said.
“The argument is only about when to hold an election,” he added, noting that the summer session, which will signal the end of the current government, may end early.
“Once a bill by one of the MKs or the Knesset factions to disperse the Knesset is passed, an election date will be set and the Knesset will go on an election break,” said Rivlin.
Rivlin’s remarks came after speculation began on the weekend that elections for the Knesset are imminent.
The primary point of contention in the Likud-led coalition is Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's insistence on immediately nullifying the Tal Law, which would abolish exemptions to IDF service received by Israel's hareidi community.
Lieberman threatened last week to leave the coalition if the universal national service law he intends to present to the Knesset does not pass.
On Monday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that a decision on whether to hold early elections will be made by the end of the next week.
Netanyahu, whose father died at the age of 102 on Monday, will be restricting his official appearances for the next week as he observes the traditional Jewish first week of mourning known as "shiva."
Meanwhile, a poll released Sunday found that Netanyahu will retain his leadership after the next elections and will even receive more seats than he currently has.
The New Wave poll, which was carried out for the Yisrael Hayom newspaper, found that that if elections were held today, Netanyahu’s Likud party would win 31 seats, four more than it currently has. Labor under Shelly Yechimovich would go up four seats and win 17 seats, while Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party would lose one seat, ending up with 14 Knesset seats.
Kadima headed by Shaul Mofaz is headed for a fall, according to the poll, dropping from 28 seats to 13 seats. Former journalist Yair Lapid’s newly formed party would receive 12 seats.
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
Knesset Speaker MK Reuven Rivlin opened the Knesset’s summer session on Monday and spoke of the impending elections which will bring about the end of the 18th Knesset.
“This seems to be the last session of the current Knesset since the entire country, opposition and coalition, agrees that the Knesset should go for elections, so that the next Knesset will be able to decide on issues that are not simple in the life of our nation,” Rivlin said.
“The argument is only about when to hold an election,” he added, noting that the summer session, which will signal the end of the current government, may end early.
“Once a bill by one of the MKs or the Knesset factions to disperse the Knesset is passed, an election date will be set and the Knesset will go on an election break,” said Rivlin.
Rivlin’s remarks came after speculation began on the weekend that elections for the Knesset are imminent.
The primary point of contention in the Likud-led coalition is Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's insistence on immediately nullifying the Tal Law, which would abolish exemptions to IDF service received by Israel's hareidi community.
Lieberman threatened last week to leave the coalition if the universal national service law he intends to present to the Knesset does not pass.
On Monday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that a decision on whether to hold early elections will be made by the end of the next week.
Netanyahu, whose father died at the age of 102 on Monday, will be restricting his official appearances for the next week as he observes the traditional Jewish first week of mourning known as "shiva."
Meanwhile, a poll released Sunday found that Netanyahu will retain his leadership after the next elections and will even receive more seats than he currently has.
The New Wave poll, which was carried out for the Yisrael Hayom newspaper, found that that if elections were held today, Netanyahu’s Likud party would win 31 seats, four more than it currently has. Labor under Shelly Yechimovich would go up four seats and win 17 seats, while Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party would lose one seat, ending up with 14 Knesset seats.
Kadima headed by Shaul Mofaz is headed for a fall, according to the poll, dropping from 28 seats to 13 seats. Former journalist Yair Lapid’s newly formed party would receive 12 seats.
Tags: Reuven Rivlin ,elections ,Knesset
More on this topic
Comment on this story
4. Former Netanyahu Chief of Staff: 'PM Reports to U.S.'
by Gil Ronen
Naftali Bennett, former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, faced off Monday against senior Peace Now activist Hagit Ofran as part of the second Security and Society Conference in Efrat.
The panelists were asked for their opinions regarding Israel's current borders. Ofran said that since the State of Israel is not interested in an Arab majority within its borders, and it must cede sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
In response, Bennett said that Israel has already been "burned" by the idea of evacuating land and has discovered that from every community the state abandoned, rockets are now fired against Israeli citizens.
Bennett said, "The State of Israel must apply full Israeli sovereignty on the community of Efrat. Netanyahu does not have enough courage to place Efrat under Israeli sovereignty and Israeli jurisdiction. Netanyahu reports to the U.S. and that is why he will not place Areas C under Israeli sovereignty."
Bennett was also head of the Yesha Council and currently heads grassroots group My Israel.
Ofran said later in the discussion that "The way to preserve Israel properly and peacefully is only if we separate the two countries. Zionism is less relevant. My aspiration is to become unemployed, by virtue of the fact that there will be no more settlements."
The panel was followed by discussions with high school students, hosted by representatives of Gesher, which promotes dialogue within Israeli society.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Naftali Bennett, former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, faced off Monday against senior Peace Now activist Hagit Ofran as part of the second Security and Society Conference in Efrat.
The panelists were asked for their opinions regarding Israel's current borders. Ofran said that since the State of Israel is not interested in an Arab majority within its borders, and it must cede sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
In response, Bennett said that Israel has already been "burned" by the idea of evacuating land and has discovered that from every community the state abandoned, rockets are now fired against Israeli citizens.
Bennett said, "The State of Israel must apply full Israeli sovereignty on the community of Efrat. Netanyahu does not have enough courage to place Efrat under Israeli sovereignty and Israeli jurisdiction. Netanyahu reports to the U.S. and that is why he will not place Areas C under Israeli sovereignty."
Bennett was also head of the Yesha Council and currently heads grassroots group My Israel.
Ofran said later in the discussion that "The way to preserve Israel properly and peacefully is only if we separate the two countries. Zionism is less relevant. My aspiration is to become unemployed, by virtue of the fact that there will be no more settlements."
The panel was followed by discussions with high school students, hosted by representatives of Gesher, which promotes dialogue within Israeli society.
Tags: Naftali Bennett ,Efrat ,Sovereignty
More on this topic
-
Political Activism Returns With Vigor to Bar Ilan University
-
"You Don't Use a Neutron Generator to Make Popcorn"
-
Efrat Chooses its Second 'Cholent King'
-
Naftali Bennett on Obama's Speech: Need Action, not Words
-
Deputy Speaker: We Must Turn Efrat Into a City
-
Two Efrat Youth Arrested for IDF Base Infiltration
Comment on this story
5. Likud Snub May Leave Barak Politically Homeless
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Ehud Barak may find himself politically homeless following Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom’s insistence that he has no place in the Likud. Shalom serves as Vice Prime Minister.
He rejected ideas that the Likud election list for Knesset Members would reserve a place for Barak, who quit the Labor party last year and formed his own Independence party, which has drawn negligible support.
“The Likud is a democratic movement and everyone can run for election,” meaning there is no need to protect a position for Barak, Shalom told Voice of Israel government radio Tuesday morning.
Barak has survived in the Knesset by virtue of his position as Defense Minister and member of the coalition when he led the Labor party. He remained in the Cabinet after he quit the party.
His only other possibility for a political home is Kadima, which would see him as a threat to oust newly elected leader Shaul Mofaz and upset the already splintered party. Polls shows that Kadima will win only about 13 seats in the next Knesset, less than half of its current number.
Barak is not a stranger to political failure. After retiring as IDF Chief of Staff, he joined Labor, where he won the leadership and swept into power against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in 1999.
Despite a huge coalition majority, his government collapsed after 18 months, paving the way for the Likud, led by Ariel Sharon, to win a landslide.
Barak then quit politics, said he would not return and traveled around the world as a representative for the military-industrial complex. He then changed his mind and returned to the Labor party, sparking a bitter leadership fight with Amir Peretz, whom he defeated.
After Prime Minister Netanyahu began to form the current coalition, Barak vowed he would not join, but shortly afterwards again changed his mind and became Defense Minister.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Ehud Barak may find himself politically homeless following Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom’s insistence that he has no place in the Likud. Shalom serves as Vice Prime Minister.
He rejected ideas that the Likud election list for Knesset Members would reserve a place for Barak, who quit the Labor party last year and formed his own Independence party, which has drawn negligible support.
“The Likud is a democratic movement and everyone can run for election,” meaning there is no need to protect a position for Barak, Shalom told Voice of Israel government radio Tuesday morning.
Barak has survived in the Knesset by virtue of his position as Defense Minister and member of the coalition when he led the Labor party. He remained in the Cabinet after he quit the party.
His only other possibility for a political home is Kadima, which would see him as a threat to oust newly elected leader Shaul Mofaz and upset the already splintered party. Polls shows that Kadima will win only about 13 seats in the next Knesset, less than half of its current number.
Barak is not a stranger to political failure. After retiring as IDF Chief of Staff, he joined Labor, where he won the leadership and swept into power against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in 1999.
Despite a huge coalition majority, his government collapsed after 18 months, paving the way for the Likud, led by Ariel Sharon, to win a landslide.
Barak then quit politics, said he would not return and traveled around the world as a representative for the military-industrial complex. He then changed his mind and returned to the Labor party, sparking a bitter leadership fight with Amir Peretz, whom he defeated.
After Prime Minister Netanyahu began to form the current coalition, Barak vowed he would not join, but shortly afterwards again changed his mind and became Defense Minister.
Tags: Ehud Barak ,kadima Party ,Labour party
More on this topic
Comment on this story
6. Beit El Residents Receive Meretz with Water, Cakes
by Gil Ronen
Meretz Knesset members and activists were received with hospitality by residents of Givat HaUlpana neighborhood in Beit El, whose homes they want to see razed. Police initially refused to let the leftists into the community but eventually reversed the decision.
The neighborhood's spokesman, Harel Cohen – who is also a spokesman for the National Union Knesset faction – received MK Ilan Gilon with a hug. "We are old friends from the Knesset and I am happy that at long last he has come to visit and strengthened us," Cohen said, with tongue in cheek. He added that the visit by two Meretz MKs raises the number of MKs who visited the neighborhood this year to 42 – with all the rest having come to voice support.
Gilon, who is disabled and used a electric scooter to move about, noted that one of the sidewalks in the neighborhood was inaccessible to the disabled. He and Cohen agreed jokingly that they would work together to arrange accessibility by the time of the next visit.
The Meretz activists were very thirsty on their way to the neighborhood and planned to stop and buy water at an Arab store because, they said, they would not buy it from Jewish settlers. However, to their surprise, residents of the Ulpana neighborhood were waiting for them with water and cakes, which they wound up taking, even carrying some with them for the way back.
The Meretz activists thanked the residents for the reception. However, party leader MK Zehava Galon seemed to maintain a scowl on her face throughout the visit.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Meretz Knesset members and activists were received with hospitality by residents of Givat HaUlpana neighborhood in Beit El, whose homes they want to see razed. Police initially refused to let the leftists into the community but eventually reversed the decision.
The neighborhood's spokesman, Harel Cohen – who is also a spokesman for the National Union Knesset faction – received MK Ilan Gilon with a hug. "We are old friends from the Knesset and I am happy that at long last he has come to visit and strengthened us," Cohen said, with tongue in cheek. He added that the visit by two Meretz MKs raises the number of MKs who visited the neighborhood this year to 42 – with all the rest having come to voice support.
Gilon, who is disabled and used a electric scooter to move about, noted that one of the sidewalks in the neighborhood was inaccessible to the disabled. He and Cohen agreed jokingly that they would work together to arrange accessibility by the time of the next visit.
The Meretz activists were very thirsty on their way to the neighborhood and planned to stop and buy water at an Arab store because, they said, they would not buy it from Jewish settlers. However, to their surprise, residents of the Ulpana neighborhood were waiting for them with water and cakes, which they wound up taking, even carrying some with them for the way back.
The Meretz activists thanked the residents for the reception. However, party leader MK Zehava Galon seemed to maintain a scowl on her face throughout the visit.
הלל מאיר
צילום: הלל מאיר
הלל מאיר
אנשי מרץ בשכונת האולפנא הלל מאיר
תושבים מחלקים מים לאנשי מרץ הלל מאיר
Tags: Meretz party ,Givat HaUlpana ,leftist groups
More on this topic
Comment on this story
7. Israeli Participation in Upcoming NATO Summit?
by Rachel Hirshfeld
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has called on the US government to get Turkey's veto lifted on Israel's participation in an upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago, Today’s Zaman reported on Sunday.
AJC President Robert Elman and AJC Executive Director David Harris wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday saying that the US should not allow Israel, its “most reliable and capable ally in the region,” to be ostracized due to Turkey's position.
“[I]t is our hope that … the political position of one member of this vital 28-nation alliance will not be allowed to hinder strategically advantageous cooperation with Israel -- the Middle East's sole democracy,” Elman and Harris asserted.
“Israel has a unique perspective, and can offer unique insights, on a range of strategic developments on NATO's doorstep, including instability in Syria, the continuing threat posed by Iran's undeterred drive for nuclear weapons capability and political transitions across North Africa,” they added.
Turkey has vetoed Israel’s participation in the upcoming NATO summit scheduled to take place in Chicago and has maintained that NATO-Israel relations cannot be restored until Turkey-Israel relations are normalized.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said Turkey will not allow Israel, a member of the Mediterranean Dialogue, to take part in the alliance's new Partnership Cooperation Menu (PCM).
Furthermore, Ankara has objected to EU participation in the Chicago summit unless the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is also authorized to participate. “If non-NATO members are also participating, the OIC should be represented [at the Chicago summit] first and foremost,” a Turkish diplomatic source told Today's Zaman last week.
Comment on this story
by Rachel Hirshfeld
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has called on the US government to get Turkey's veto lifted on Israel's participation in an upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago, Today’s Zaman reported on Sunday.
AJC President Robert Elman and AJC Executive Director David Harris wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday saying that the US should not allow Israel, its “most reliable and capable ally in the region,” to be ostracized due to Turkey's position.
“[I]t is our hope that … the political position of one member of this vital 28-nation alliance will not be allowed to hinder strategically advantageous cooperation with Israel -- the Middle East's sole democracy,” Elman and Harris asserted.
“Israel has a unique perspective, and can offer unique insights, on a range of strategic developments on NATO's doorstep, including instability in Syria, the continuing threat posed by Iran's undeterred drive for nuclear weapons capability and political transitions across North Africa,” they added.
Turkey has vetoed Israel’s participation in the upcoming NATO summit scheduled to take place in Chicago and has maintained that NATO-Israel relations cannot be restored until Turkey-Israel relations are normalized.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said Turkey will not allow Israel, a member of the Mediterranean Dialogue, to take part in the alliance's new Partnership Cooperation Menu (PCM).
Furthermore, Ankara has objected to EU participation in the Chicago summit unless the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is also authorized to participate. “If non-NATO members are also participating, the OIC should be represented [at the Chicago summit] first and foremost,” a Turkish diplomatic source told Today's Zaman last week.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
8. Livni: "I Refused to Sell Out Country to Hareidim"
by Gil Ronen
Four weeks after she was trounced by MK Shaul Mofaz in Kadima's primaries, former Kadima chair Tzipi Livni resigned Tuesday from the party. In her farewell speech, she prided herself on "refusing to surrender to political blackmail." However, a handwritten note apparently says otherwise.
"I am not sorry that I refused to engage in profiteering with public money," Livni said. "I am not sorry that I opposed stopping the diplomatic process that is the key to Israel's future, even when the price was the office of Prime Minister. That is why I am not sorry that I refused to sell out the state to hareidim in order to create a government."
Livni's Kadima party received slightly more seats than the Likud in the last election, but she was unable to gather enough coalition partners to form a government. One of the reasons is that the hareidi parties did not join her in forming a coalition.
"And no, I am not sorry that I refused to be a partner to the policy of the present government, which is causing the deterioration of the state of Israel, although the price of this decision was to sit in the Opposition and despite the heavy personal price I paid for this decision as well."
Livni's voice shook slightly and she was visibly overcome by emotion. "I have always said that the [political] seat is not everything," she said. I am leaving the Knesset at this point, but I am not leaving political life… Many have asked me to stay at the wheel, but I do not see politics as a kind of Ferris wheel that is supposed to cause politicians joy when they reach the top. I will continue the struggle, in the position and way that will allow me to continue to represent the values in which I believe…"
MK Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) has refuted Livni's claim regarding non-appeasement of hareidim in the past. In a Knesset speech five months ago, he showed a handwritten note which he said was written by Livni's chief of staff in 2008. The note specifies the amounts of money that yeshiva students would receive under Livni's government if UTJ would join her coalition – and the amounts are sizably larger than those Netanyahu offered at the time.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Four weeks after she was trounced by MK Shaul Mofaz in Kadima's primaries, former Kadima chair Tzipi Livni resigned Tuesday from the party. In her farewell speech, she prided herself on "refusing to surrender to political blackmail." However, a handwritten note apparently says otherwise.
"I am not sorry that I refused to engage in profiteering with public money," Livni said. "I am not sorry that I opposed stopping the diplomatic process that is the key to Israel's future, even when the price was the office of Prime Minister. That is why I am not sorry that I refused to sell out the state to hareidim in order to create a government."
Livni's Kadima party received slightly more seats than the Likud in the last election, but she was unable to gather enough coalition partners to form a government. One of the reasons is that the hareidi parties did not join her in forming a coalition.
"And no, I am not sorry that I refused to be a partner to the policy of the present government, which is causing the deterioration of the state of Israel, although the price of this decision was to sit in the Opposition and despite the heavy personal price I paid for this decision as well."
Livni's voice shook slightly and she was visibly overcome by emotion. "I have always said that the [political] seat is not everything," she said. I am leaving the Knesset at this point, but I am not leaving political life… Many have asked me to stay at the wheel, but I do not see politics as a kind of Ferris wheel that is supposed to cause politicians joy when they reach the top. I will continue the struggle, in the position and way that will allow me to continue to represent the values in which I believe…"
MK Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) has refuted Livni's claim regarding non-appeasement of hareidim in the past. In a Knesset speech five months ago, he showed a handwritten note which he said was written by Livni's chief of staff in 2008. The note specifies the amounts of money that yeshiva students would receive under Livni's government if UTJ would join her coalition – and the amounts are sizably larger than those Netanyahu offered at the time.
Tags: Tzipi Livni ,kadima ,Yaakov L
More on this topic
Comment on this story
More Website News:
 |
Businessman War Vet, 34, to Replace Livni in Knesset  |
|
|
Gov. Christie 'May be Convinced' to Run with Romney |
|
|
'Matanyahu' Seal Found near Solomon's Temple |
|
|
Ad in Newspaper Hits Magen David-Red Cross Pact |
|
|
Google Faces Lawsuit Over 'Jewish' Search Suggestions |
