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Yair Lapid

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Yair Lapid
יאיר לפיד
Yair Lapid 2021 (cropped).jpg
Lapid in 2021
2nd Alternate Prime Minister of Israel
Assumed office
13 June 2021 (2021-06-13)
Prime MinisterNaftali Bennett
Preceded byBenny Gantz
Ministerial roles
2013–2014Minister of Finance
2021–Minister of Foreign Affairs
Faction represented in the Knesset
2013–2019Yesh Atid
2019–2020Blue and White
2020–Yesh Atid
Other roles
2020–2021Leader of the Opposition
Personal details
Born (1963-11-05) 5 November 1963 (age 57)
Tel Aviv, Israel
Political partyYesh Atid
Spouse(s)Lihi Lapid
Children3
ParentsTommy Lapid
Shulamit Lapid
Occupation
  • Politician
  • journalist

Yair Lapid (Hebrew: יָאִיר לַפִּיד‎, IPA: [jaˈʔiʁ laˈpid]; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician and former journalist serving as the Alternate Prime Minister of Israel and Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2021. Lapid also serves as the chairman of the Yesh Atid, having previously served as Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 2021 and as Minister of Finance from 2013 to 2014.[1]

Before entering politics in 2012, Lapid was an author, TV presenter and news anchor. The centrist Yesh Atid party, which he founded, became the second-largest party in the Knesset by winning 19 seats in its first legislative election in 2013. The greater-than-anticipated results contributed to Lapid's reputation as a leading centrist.

From 2013 to 2014, following his coalition agreement with Likud, Lapid served as Minister of Finance under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2013, Lapid ranked first on the list of the "Most Influential Jews in the World" by The Jerusalem Post.[2] He was also recognized in 2013 as one of the leading Foreign Policy Global Thinkers,[3] and ranked as one of Time magazine's 100 "Most Influential People in the World".[4] He serves on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and the Sub-Committee on Intelligence and the Security Services.[5]

On 17 May 2020, Lapid became the Leader of the Opposition, after the thirty-fifth government of Israel was sworn in.[6] On 5 May 2021, he began talks with other parties to try to form a coalition government.[7] On 2 June 2021, Lapid informed Israeli President Reuven Rivlin that he had agreed to a rotation government with Naftali Bennett and was prepared to replace the incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.[8] The new government was sworn in on 13 June 2021.[9]

Personal life and background

Yair Lapid in the early 1980s, while serving as a military correspondent for the IDF's weekly newspaper

Lapid was born in Tel Aviv, the son of journalist and politician Yosef "Tommy" Lapid, who also served as Justice Minister, and novelist and playwright Shulamit (Giladi) Lapid. His father was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) to Hungarian-Jewish parents,[10] and his maternal grandfather was a Ashkenazi Jewish from Transylvania, Romania.[11][12] He has a sister, Merav, who is a clinical psychologist. Another sister, Michal, died in a car accident in 1984.[13] Both of his grandmothers were alive when his parents moved to Israel.[14] His great-grandmother Hermione Lampel was arrested in Serbia and sent to Auschwitz, where she was murdered in a gas chamber.[15][16]

Lapid grew up in Tel Aviv and London. His childhood home in Tel Aviv was in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood, in a residential building known as the Journalists' Residence, as several prominent journalists lived there. He attended high school at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, but struggled with learning disabilities and dropped out without earning a bagrut certificate.[13][17] He began his mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces in the 500th Brigade of the Armored Corps. During the 1982 Lebanon War, Lapid suffered an asthma attack after inhaling dust kicked up by a helicopter, and was pulled from the Corps. He then served as a military correspondent for the IDF's weekly newspaper, Bamahane ("In the base camp").[18] After completing his military service, he began working as a reporter for Maariv and published poetry in literary journals. He also had a career as an amateur boxer.[19]

In the mid-1980s, Lapid married Tamar Friedman. They later divorced, and he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked in the television industry. He later returned to Israel, where he resumed his journalism career.

He is married to journalist Lihi Lapid,[20] and lives in the Ramat Aviv Gimel neighborhood of Tel Aviv.[21] He and his wife have two children, and he has another son, Yoav (born 1987), from his first marriage.[22] He attends the Daniels Centers for Progressive Judaism, a Reform synagogue in Tel Aviv.[23]

Journalism and media career

Yair Lapid in Jacob Goldwasser's 1991 film Beyond the Sea

In 1988, at age 25, Lapid was appointed editor of Yedioth Tel Aviv, a local newspaper published by the Yedioth Ahronoth group. In 1991, he began writing a weekly column in a nationwide newspaper's weekend supplement—first for Maariv, and later for its competitor, Yedioth Ahronoth. His column's name, "Where's the Money?", became his political slogan decades later.[22]

In 1994, Lapid started on TV, hosting the leading Friday evening talk show on Israel TV's Channel 1. That same year, he had an acting role in an Israeli film, Trip to Sudan. He next hosted a talk show on TV Channel 3. From 1999 to 2012, Lapid hosted a current affairs talk show on Channel 2.

From 1989 to 2010, Lapid wrote and published several books, spanning a variety of genres. His first was a thriller, of which he has published three more; the others include two children's books, two novels, and a collection of his newspaper columns. In addition, he wrote a drama series, War Room, that aired on Channel 2 in 2004.

In January 2008, Lapid was the host of Ulpan Shishi (Friday Studio), Channel 2's Friday night news magazine. That year, the Cameri Theater performed his first play, The Right Age for Love.

In January 2012, controversy arose after Lapid was admitted by Bar-Ilan University into a doctorate program, studying towards a PhD in hermeneutics. This was in violation of rules stating that all doctoral candidates must hold at minimum a bachelor's degree. Lapid, who had failed to complete high school, was admitted to the university based on his extra-academic credentials and career in journalism and writing. After the Knesset Education Committee launched an investigation, the Council for Higher Education canceled the program under which Lapid was admitted, which had allowed students without a BA to study towards a doctorate.[24][25]

In September 2013, the Israeli edition of Forbes magazine estimated Lapid's net worth at 22 million shekels.[26]

Political career

Yair Lapid giving a speech at Sapir Academic College in November 2015
Lapid with Benny Gantz in 2019

On 8 January 2012 Lapid announced that he would be leaving journalism in order to enter politics.[27] On 30 April he formally registered his party, "Yesh Atid" (Hebrew: יש עתיד‎, lit., "There's a Future").[28] The move was timed to coincide with the general expectation in Israel for early elections to be held in the early fall of 2012.

A few days after Yesh Atid's registration, in a surprise move, Benjamin Netanyahu formed a national unity government. It was then thought that Lapid's party would have to wait until late 2013 before it could participate in national elections. But in October 2012, following the departure of Kadima from Netanyahu's coalition over how to implement a Supreme Court decision ending the exemption from the military draft for the ultra-Orthodox, Netanyahu announced that elections would take place in late January 2013, affording Yesh Atid its first opportunity to run. In November 2012, Yesh Atid was polling an average of 11.6%, or 13–14 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The results of the January election showed the party winning an unexpected 19 seats, making Yesh Atid the second-largest party in the 19th Knesset.[29]

Lapid was named Israel's finance minister on 15 March 2013.[30] Only nine months later, a survey was published showing a continuing trend of decreasing popularity, with 75% of those polled claiming to be disappointed by his performance, and his party achieved only 10 seats in the Knesset, as opposed to the 19 it got at the beginning of the year.[31]

On 2 December 2014, Netanyahu fired Lapid as finance minister.[32]

Yesh Atid

In 2016, Lapid presented his platform, the "Seven Point Plan for Israel", which includes a robust security doctrine, a regional conference with Arab states based on the necessity of separating from the Palestinians, reforms of the political system to clean up corruption, the State of Israel that strikes a balance between its Jewish and democratic character, a strengthened law enforcement system, an economy propelled forward by innovation, and increased emphasis on education and science.[33][34]

Under Lapid, Yesh Atid claims to spearhead the fight against corruption in Israel. The "Nachshon Plan", unveiled in 2017, stipulates that any person found guilty of corruption will be banned from serving in public office. To prevent political bribery, it also abolishes "coalition funds".'[35]

Mandate to form a government

Lapid with president Reuven Rivlin in May 2021

On 5 May 2021, Lapid was entrusted with the second mandate to form a new government, after the incumbent Netanyahu failed to do so with the first mandate.[36] On 9 May 2021, it was reported that Lapid and Bennett had made major headway in the coalition talks.[37] However, on 10 May, coalition talks seemed to be jeopardized as the Ra’am party announced it was suspending coalition talks, due to escalation in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. [38] On 13 May his path to being Prime Minister was further complicated when Naftali Bennett reportedly decided against joining a Lapid government due to the ongoing military conflict with Gaza. [39] On 30 May 2021, Bennett announced in a televised address that Yamina would indeed join a unity government with Lapid after all but one Yamina MK agreed to back this decision.[40] On 2 June 2021, following negotiations with Lapid and Bennett, Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas officially signed a coalition agreement with Lapid and agreed to allow his party to join.[41]

Views and opinions

Lapid has said that he would demand a resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.[42] His party's 2013 platform calls for an outline of "two states for two peoples", while maintaining the large Israeli settlement blocs, a united Jerusalem, and ensuring Israel's safety.[43] In January 2013, just days before the election, Lapid said he would not join a cabinet that stalled peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, and added that a single country for both Israelis and Palestinians without a peace agreement would endanger Israel's Jewish character. He said, "We're not looking for a happy marriage with the Palestinians, but for a divorce agreement we can live with."[44] As part of a future peace agreement, Lapid said Palestinians would have to recognize that the large West Bank settlement blocs of Ariel, Gush Etzion and Ma'aleh Adumim would remain within the State of Israel.[45] According to Lapid, only granting Palestinians their own state could end the conflict and Jews and Arabs should live apart in two states, while Jerusalem should remain undivided under Israeli rule.[46][47] He is enthusiastic about annexing the Golan Heights, and has also declared that he is guided by a principle of "maximum Jews on maximum land with maximum security and with minimum Palestinians."[48]

Of the diplomatic stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Lapid said, "Most of the blame belongs to the Palestinian side, and I am not sure that they as a people are ready to make peace with us."[49] He has also dismissed the possibility of a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians as unrealistic.[50]

In June 2015, after the March 2015 elections, Lapid visited the United States, and after an hour-long interview, American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote, "Lapid is a leader of the great mass of disillusioned centrists in Israeli politics. He could conceivably be prime minister one day, assuming Benjamin Netanyahu, in whose previous cabinet he served, ever stops being prime minister. Now functioning as a kind of shadow foreign minister, Lapid argues that Israel must seize the diplomatic initiative with the Palestinians if it is to continue existing as a Jewish-majority democracy, and he is proposing a regional summit somewhat along the lines of the earlier Arab Peace Initiative. Lapid is not a left-winger—he has a particular sort of contempt for the Israeli left, born of the belief that leftists do not recognize the nature of the region in which they live. But he is also for territorial compromise as a political and moral necessity, and he sees Netanyahu leading Israel inexorably toward the abyss."[51]

In September 2015, Lapid laid out his diplomatic vision in a major speech at Bar Ilan University[52] in which he said, "Israel's strategic goal needs to be a regional agreement that will lead to full and normal relations with the Arab world and the creation of a demilitarized independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. That's where Israel needs to head. Separation from the Palestinians with strict security measures will save the Jewish character of the state."

Lapid supports recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. He noted in 2017 that with Iran attempting to establish a foothold in Syria, Israel cannot be expected to relinquish the Golan Heights.[53]

Religion and state

In 2013, when Yesh Atid sat in the government, Lapid pushed for increased public transportation on Shabbat, as opposed to the current law that mandates most public transportation shut down.[54]

Additionally, Lapid strongly supports instituting a civil marriage track in Israel. Currently, marriage and divorce for Jews are controlled by the Chief Rabbinate. The Chief Rabbinate will not officiate marriages between Jews and non-Jews, and some Israelis from the Soviet Union—who are not Jewish according to Jewish law—cannot marry in Israel.[55] Although Israel recognizes civil marriages that are performed abroad, there is no mechanism for performing civil marriage in Israel. In 2015, under Lapid's leadership, Yesh Atid championed a bill to institute civil marriage, but the bill was defeated in the Knesset, with 50 votes against and 39 in favor.[56]

Israel-diaspora relations

When Netanyahu walked back his promise to Diaspora Jews in 2017 to expand prayer at the Western Wall, Lapid slammed the decision, saying that the Israeli government alienated "senators, congressmen, the majority of the pro-Israel lobby, major donors, the people we turn to when we need help ensuring that Israel will get advanced weapons, that the military assistance will increase, that there will be sanctions on Iran".[57] He implored American Jews to "not give up on us. We have no intention of giving up on you. We are one people. It might take time. It might take elections. But in a democracy, the majority decides, and the majority in Israel want us to be one nation."[57] Lapid asserts that it is Israel's responsibility to recognize all streams of Judaism, including streams which don't follow Orthodox Jewish Law.[58]

Lapid is a leading proponent of a deep bipartisan US-Israel relationship. He has upbraided Netanyahu for alienating American Democrats: "The fact that the [Israeli] government completely identifies with the conservative, evangelical faction of the Republican party is dangerous."[59]

When Jewish Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch's request to attend the embassy opening in Jerusalem was ignored, Lapid said, "There's no way the government of Israel didn't notice this. It's the job of the Prime Minister's office to look at the list and say: We are nonpartisan and are not just attached to Republicans."[59]

Haredim

During the 2013 election campaign, Lapid spoke of "equal shares of the burden" for all Israeli citizens. He said he would work to see all Israeli citizens, including the thousands of Haredim, who had up until that point been exempt from most civil service, be included in military and civil service.[60][61] On 27 May 2013, Lapid threatened to topple the government unless ultra-Orthodox would be subject to criminal sanctions for draft-dodging. In the view of some Haredim, Lapid's plan represents a "spiritual holocaust", as they believe that their Jewish studies are what upholds Israel. Some Haredim have declared that even at the risk of being criminals, they will continue in their Jewish studies and refuse to enlist or perform civilian service.[62][63] Lapid denied that he was seeking to destroy the Haredi way of life, saying: "Not one of us wishes, Heaven forbid, to force hiloniyut [secularism] on you or to impose our version of Israeli identity. This state was established so that Jews could be Jews, and live as Jews, without having to fear anyone."[64]

Defending Israel against bias

Lapid is a vocal opponent of the BDS movement, which seeks to economically isolate Israel. He has said, "We can no longer abandon this battle to the haters of Israel. We need to defend Israel's good name in the world. They are besmirching us, and the time has come to answer them." Lapid has also helped college students in America oppose BDS.[65]

Lapid has spoken out vehemently about alleged United Nations bias against Israel. In an op-ed, he excoriated the United Nations Human Rights Council for voting for "61 resolutions condemning human rights abuses across the world, and 67 resolutions which condemned Israel" in the past decade and having its own agenda item on Israel. Lapid blames UNESCO for "erasing Jewish history".[66]

Lapid traces the UN's alleged bias against Israel to the creation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) in 1950, which services only Palestinian refugees and gives them hereditary status so that the number of refugees has expanded from approximately 750,000 to five million.[67]

Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance

Lapid, whose father was a Holocaust survivor, spoke out against Poland's controversial Holocaust bill, which would criminalize accusing the Polish nation of being complicit in the Holocaust. Lapid said, "No Polish law will change history. Poland was complicit in the Holocaust. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were murdered on its soil without them having met any German officer",[68] adding that his "grandmother was murdered in Poland by Germans and Poles".[69] Lapid also wrote that there were "Polish death camps". The Auschwitz museum said that Lapid’s statements about Poland resembled Holocaust denial.[70]

In February 2018, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said "there were Jewish perpetrators" of the Holocaust, "not only German perpetrators".[71] Lapid condemned Morawiecki's words: "The perpetrators are not the victims. The Jewish state will not allow the murdered to be blamed for their own murder."[72]

Lapid's book Memories After My Death chronicles his father's life and observations as Israel evolved over its first sixty years.[73]

Social media

Since the beginning of the 33rd Government, Lapid has written posts on Facebook that have been quite similar.[74][75][clarification needed] There was a discrepancy between the posts and Yesh Atid's work in the Knesset.[76][77][78][79][clarification needed]

The Lapidomator Facebook status generator of a unique text was written by a team of Israeli programmers in July 2013.[80][81] It has generated new Lapid statuses of every word, and Mako demonstrated three different statuses generated from the words "Lapidomator", "Yair Lapid", and "Bullshit".[82]

Rosenstein, one of the Lapidomator programmers, said: "We have noticed that the Yesh Atid party spends a lot of time on Facebook, instead of engaging in parliamentary activities. Their posts do not say anything. They are full of beautiful text and very little substance. A bit like Yair Lapid. So we decided to shorten the waiting time for Yair Lapid's new posts and simply build a site which produces them itself."[81]

The Lapidomator was covered widely in the media,[83][84][85][86][87] and continued to be active after Lapid ceased to be Finance Minister. On 7 November 2018, MK Tamar Zandberg complained about the empty seats of Lapid and Ofer Shelah, who were absent during the vote on public transportation on Saturdays,[88][89] and the Lapidomator generated an adequate status.[90]

As of 10 November 2018, Lapidomator has generated 322,526 posts.[91][92]

Published works

  • The Double Head: thriller (1989)
  • Yoav's Shadow: children's book (1992)
  • One-Man Play: novel (1993)
  • Elbi – A Knight's Story: children's book (1998)
  • The Sixth Riddle: thriller (2001)
  • Standing in a Row: collection of newspaper columns (2005)
  • The Second Woman: thriller (2006)
  • Sunset in Moscow: thriller (2007)
  • Memories After My Death: Biography (2010)
  • A Journey to Our Future (2017)

Awards and recognition

In April 2013, Lapid appeared on Time magazine's list of "100 Most Influential People in the World 2013" in the category Leaders.[93] The following month, he ranked first on the list of the "Most Influential Jews in the World" by The Jerusalem Post.[2] He also was listed as one of the "Foreign Policy Global Thinkers 2013".[3]

References

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  74. ^ Yair Lapid (27 May 2013). "I want to be very clear about the equality of the burden". Facebook (in Hebrew). Retrieved 7 November 2018. There will be an equality of the burden, or this government will fall apart. From the first moment Yesh Atid has taken upon itself to be the responsible and stable part of the government. I took upon myself all the difficult and unpleasant parts of the government's work, but if someone thinks that I went into politics only for solving the economic catastrophe which the previous government left here, he does not understand why I am here.
  75. ^ Yair Lapid (7 November 2018). "The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Netanyahu is now completely identified with the Republican Party". Facebook (in Hebrew). Retrieved 7 November 2018. The Democratic victory in the US Congressional race creates quite a few challenges for the current government, and for more than two years everyone has been telling Netanyahu that it would happen, but he thought that he knew better.
  76. ^ TheMarker digital (22 May 2013). "15 promises and inaccuracies in Lapid's post – and how it affects your life". TheMarker (in Hebrew). Retrieved 7 November 2018. TheMarker examination: The gap between the statements which were made by the Finance Minister Yair Lapid in his Facebook posting for presenting the successes in the budget, and the reality of the economic cuttings: incorrect calculations, announcements of a committee which has not yet been established, the lowering of prices which is not on the horizon, and no word about housing prices.
  77. ^ Blumenthal, Itai; Efraim, Omri; Azoulay, Moran (28 January 2014). "Criticism of the nutrition program: Poverty is not just food". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 7 November 2018. The Finance Minister announced an addition of 30 million ILS for nutritional security, but the NGOs complained: "The treasury is making things difficult for us." MK Herzog: "A gap between talk and action".
  78. ^ Efraim, Omri (28 January 2014). "75,000 extra hot meals budgeted for 'nutritional security'". Ynetnews. Retrieved 7 November 2018. It is further unclear why a large amount of the funds is allocated to voluntary sectors and not transferred directly to underprivileged populations through magnetic cards or through existing infrastructure of government offices, a move that could save some of the costs. Many experts believe that the answer to solving the problem of poverty is in raising low allotments and not in food distribution.
  79. ^ "More talk, less action". Al Mishmar HaKnesset (in Hebrew). 26 August 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2018. The third session of the 19th Knesset is characterized by poor parliamentary work in all aspects of religion and state. On the other hand, the public discourse remains lively both in the media, in public and in the personal platforms of MKs on the social network.
  80. ^ Lapidomator (15 July 2013). "Lapidomator was launched on 16.7.2013 around 13:30". Lapidomator (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  81. ^ Jump up to: a b Odinaev, Lila (16 July 2013). "Lapidomator: The Yair Lapid's statuses generator, drives Facebook crazy and embarrasses Lapid". Mako (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 November 2018. The new toy that has been driving Facebook crazy in the last few hours is the Lapidomator – the statuses generator of the chairman of the "Yesh Atid" party, Yair Lapid – you choose the word and it puts it on a completely genuine status of Lapid.
  82. ^ Odinaev, Lila (16 July 2013). "This status was not really written by Yair Lapid, the Chairman of the "Yesh Atid" party and the Finance Minister, on his Facebook page". Mako (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 November 2018. 1. I want to be very clear about Lapidomator: The Lapidomator is on the verge of collapse. This is not going to happen on my shift. In this way, at least it will be short. Within two years the country will look quite different. Especially when it comes to the Lapidomator.
    2. Let's talk about Yair Lapid. Yair Lapid must be dealt with. Taking care of Yair Lapid is not pleasant. I do not deny it. I believe that we have to live in a society in which Yair Lapid is important. I know other opinions in public, but these views lost the elections.
    3. I have heard several kinds of people talking about hitting the bullshit. I say it, plain and simple—I am here to take care of the bullshit. I have undertaken to lead a party in which politicians take care of the bullshit instead of worrying only about themselves and their associates.
  83. ^ Kenan, Ido; Silver, Jonny (16 July 2013). "Which status was written by Yair Lapid, and which one was written by a computer?". Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  84. ^ Solomon, Ido (16 July 2013). "Technology Flash: The Lapidomator has collapsed". Mako (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  85. ^ Winer, Stuart (18 July 2013). "'Lapidomator' is a Web sensation". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 November 2018. Spoof website automatically generates Facebook updates from Finance Minister Yair Lapid.
  86. ^ Miskin, Maayana (21 July 2013). "Lapid Amused by 'Lapidomator' App". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 9 November 2018. Lapid told his followers that he had tested the 'Lapidomator' app at home. "I had a contest with the kids. They would enter, say, the word 'hummus', and I would write something, and then we would check the Lapidomator and see if it was similar", he explained.
  87. ^ Sherman, Martin (10 October 2013). "Into the Fray: What an Idiot!". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 9 November 2018. As one of the creators of the Lapidometer, a satirical website that parodies Lapid's pronounced penchant for the use of social media [...] it is difficult to comprehend how the public was duped into voting for him in such large numbers.
  88. ^ Tamar Zandberg (7 November 2018). "Look at those empty chairs. These are the chairs of Yesh Atid MKs, who have just run away from voting on a public transportation bill on the Sabbath. Shame". Facebook (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  89. ^ Lis, Yehonatan (7 November 2018). "The opposition attacks 'Yesh Atid': "They fled from the voting upon public transportation on the Sabbath."". Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 November 2018. At the party, they claimed that they set off with coalition members and that they would present in the next week a law which was more correct for the Israeli society and had a broad consensus.
  90. ^ Lapidomator (7 November 2018). "The public transportation on the Sabbath". Lapidomator (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 November 2018. Carefully, without the trumpets fanfare and no ostentatious festivities, negotiations on the public transportation on Saturday, have been resumed. One should not let the anger blind us opposite the truth: the other possibility is the collapse of public transportation on the Sabbath, no less. If we were sitting idly by, the state would collapse [...] I said this week at the faction meeting about the public transportation on Shabbat: "They say that we do not understand politics, they are right. What does it mean? It means that we have no choice but to adhere to our principles and values because that is what we do understand. About it, we have to talk. About public transportation on the Sabbath.
  91. ^ Lapidomator. "Popular posts". Lapidomator (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 November 2018. Strands of hair; Sex with the ex; Silicone tits; My chair; Another movie with Adam Sandler.
  92. ^ Lapidomator. "Top posts". Lapidomator (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 November 2018. Pearl Jam; Butt plug; Gav Ha'Uma; Women who do not shave legs in the summer; Mass orgies in the Knesset; Bitcoin; Bugs in production.
  93. ^ Vick, Karl. "The 2013 TIME 100". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 24 June 2018.

External links

Party political offices
New office Leader of Yesh Atid
2012–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Yuval Steinitz 		Minister of Finance
2013–2014 		Succeeded by
Benjamin Netanyahu
Acting
Vacant
Title last held by
Shelly Yachimovich 		Leader of the Opposition
2020–2021 		Succeeded by
Benjamin Netanyahu
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