Comments on: Flavor of the month? How Yair Lapid can make this time different

By: Gil Reich

Gil Reich — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:01:16 +0000

If pressed, I assume he'll say that this isn't a government of the Chareidm and far right, it's a centrist government with him in it. He can say he meant he wouldn't be a six-seat token centrist in a right-wing gov't, but this is different. He can say the extreme right is Otzma L'Yisrael, who didn't get in, so no problem. I don't know. You're right. We'll never know the answer to your first question, of how many votes he got b/c of the promise. I expect we're about to find out the answer to your second question, what will happen if he sits in a gov't with Netanyahu, Liberman, Bennett, Deri, and maybe Yahadut HaTorah. And I expect the answer is that some people will complain, most will accept, people will forget and life will go on.

By: Ilana Walsh

Ilana Walsh — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:10:50 +0000

Do you know Hebrew? This is the message I got (I am not registered with Yesh Atid so I presume it was sent out to lots of people):
לא אכנס לממשלה של חרדים וימין קיצוני, לא אוותר במילימטר על השיוויון בנטל, לא אכנס לממשלה שלא תחזור למשא ומתן.

By: Gil Reich

Gil Reich — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:44:33 +0000

Interesting. I know he said he wouldn't be a fig leaf for a gov't with Hareidim and the extreme right. Did he say something that sounded categorical but left some wiggle room, or did he really say he wouldn't sit in a gov't w/ Hareidim or the far right?

By: Ilana Walsh

Ilana Walsh — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 23:05:13 +0000

"Yair insists he’ll sit with anybody as long they’re working together to accomplish his party’s mission". Just before the election I (and I suppose thousands of others) received a text from Yair Lapid stating categorically that he would not enter a government with the Haredim or the extreme right. I wonder how many votes he got on the strength of that assertion, and what would happen if he went back on it.

By: Ze'ev Silverman

Ze'ev Silverman — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:58:57 +0000

Here's hoping

By: Hanoch Young

Hanoch Young — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:30:37 +0000

It's a real opportunity for Yesh Atid to make a REAL difference -

By: Emilya Burd

Emilya Burd — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:25:02 +0000

Im so skeptical of yair lapid

By: Asher Zeiger

Asher Zeiger — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:03:28 +0000

One ENORMOUS difference between Yesh Atid and all of the flash-in-the-pan centrist parties of the last 20 years, none of which have lasted for more than one Knesset. Now, I don't yet know if this difference is a good thing or not, but in the past, the centrist parties that got everyone so excited – Kadima, Shinui, Derech Hashlishi, etc. were made up of "seasoned" Knesset members who basically could no longer find their place in the parties that they had served for years, so they banded together and called themselves the "center" or the "middle ground." Yesh Atid is made up of complete newcomers to teh Knesset, bringing with them their own non-parliamentary experiences, backgrounds and perspectives.

That they garnered so much support with zero government experience shows that a lot of Israelis are more interested in their ideas and freshness and are willing to take a chance on weathering the expected novice mistakes.

But it does give the party a very different feel than Kadima once had, or any of the other centrist parties.

By: Asher Zeiger

Asher Zeiger — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:03:28 +0000

But it does give the party a very different feel than Kadima once had, or any of the other centrist parties.

By: Jen Maidenberg

Jen Maidenberg — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:02:58 +0000

As a newbie here, I can't really comment on your take, but I like the way you laid it out. Makes sense. I think focusing on the domestic issues is key to keep those of us who voted for Yesh Atid engaged and happy. For me personally, adding to their agenda environment, climate change

By: Jen Maidenberg

Jen Maidenberg — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:02:58 +0000