Internal problems-if this goes unresolved, I fear for ...

Shas: Livni will sell country to Arabs

Ultra-Orthodox party lashes out after Kadima chairwoman pledges she 'won't sell country to haredim,' warns it will share fate of the anti-religious Shinui
Attila Somfalvi

"Sure, Kadima won't sell the country to the haredim – seeing as they'll sell it beforehand to the Arab though concessions in Jerusalem," said an irate Yakov Margi, chairman of the Shas party's Knesset faction. Margi was referring to comments made by Kadima chairwoman, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, earlier Thursday evening at a meeting of Kadima's board.



In a particularly harshly-worded speech, Livni first went after her former political home, calling the Likud "a party that knows how to say no about every topic. Kadima will be representative of Israel and will determine its identity as a Jewish state, without selling the country to the haredim along the way."



Margi said Kadima was proving itself no different from the extinct Shunui party. "Those who promised a different kind of politics today presented white politics," said Margi, adding that Kadima's will share Shinui's fate.


'Likud is the same Likud'

Livni began her speech by addressing the primary elections the party faces ahead of the general elections. Just prior to her taking the podium, the Kadima board voted in favor of securing the second-highest slot on the party's roster for Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz. The proposal was put forward by the chairman of Kadima's party affairs committee, MK Tzachi Hanegbi.



"Kadima is comprised of people who left other homes. I left the Likud. Others left other parties," said Livni. "I left the Likud because I couldn't stay because of how it conducted its internal politics, and because of its inability to lead any progress in any field. This is a party that just knows how to say no to everything.



"The Likud is the same Likud, the party is the same party, they still do not have a path, and the people are the same people."



The foreign minister also touched on the economic crisis, saying "we can't ignore the fact that the public fears the financial crisis, which began outside Israel's borders and is now coming here. Israel's economy is strong, that's true… but there is a fear of the financial crisis and it must be addressed, because that is the duty and responsibility of the government. It is the responsibility of the Kadima government today, and it will be our responsibility in the future as well."



Comment: We have a major social problem, left unresolved will lead to Israel's downward spiral. the separation between religious and secular in this country is becoming epidemic. This topic deserves a major analysis in the coming weeks-will attempt to do so.