MKs Eldad, Ben-Ari form 'Strong
Israel' party
Rightist lawmakers split from National
Union to 'fight for country's Jewish character'
Noam (Dabul) Dvir
Knesset Members Arieh Eldad and Michael Ben-Ari are splitting from the
National Union and forming a new party, Strong Israel, under the slogan "There
are no rights without obligations." Extreme rightist Baruch Marzel was placed
third on the new party's roster ahead of the upcoming elections; Aryeh King of
the Israel Land Fund, which supports Israeli development in east Jerusalem, was
given the fourth slot, while Itamar Ben-Gvir, another
extreme-right activist, will fill the fifth spot.
Eldad announced the establishment of the new party during a press conference
in Jerusalem on Tuesday, but said "We cannot talk politics before we discuss
south Israel. A million citizens are currently sitting in shelters under the
threat of rockets while the government, which can only be defined as insane,
continues to supply electricity and water to
Gaza. This is one
of the things we will try to change as a new faction in the political arena.
There is an external terror threat and an internal terror threat in the form of
infiltrators."
Strong Israel leaders during
press conference
ccording to Eldad, Strong Israel aims to fill a "vacuum" he claims exists in
the rightist political bloc. "(Yisrael Beiteinu head) Avigdor Lieberman has
joined (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and will sit with (MK Dan)
Meridor in the same party, while Aryeh
Deri is dragging
Shas to the left, to the Oslo days. Therefore, there is an ideological need to
remind people that without obligations there are no rights. The land of Israel
belongs to the people of Israel."
Ben-Ari told the reporters, "We will not join the coalition for jobs or
budgets. We will join only in exchange for the implementation of principles that
will strengthen Israel."
Eldad addressed claims that his new
party promotes intolerance and
hatred of others. "A Jewish majority does not constitute hatred for others. We
are fighting for the (country's) Jewish character," the rightist lawmaker said.
The National Union issued a statement saying the establishment of the
new party "is a day of celebration for the Left due to the loss of tens of
thousands of votes and a return to the days of Oslo."
Anyone that wants to volunteer to work in their neighborhood by getting a group together to a speaker from the party, hang a banner on your merpezot, hand out flyers, stickers, etc., please contact me at:
Barbaraandchaim@gmail.com with your name, address and cellphone number and I will turn it into the Knesset office of Ben-Ari to be shared with his running mates.
Barbara Ginsberg
