Netanyahu: building Beit She'an
Photo: Hagai Aharon
'Beit She’an will be tourist Mecca'
Benjamin Netanyahu hits campaign trail in ancient town, pledges to bring millions of tourists to archeological sites in eastern Israel; mayor says town 'behind' Netanyahu, predicts former fianance minister will be next prime minister. During talk with students in local school, Netanyahu slams Sharon for acting undemocratically
Bibi hits campaign trail: Knesset Member Benjamin Netanyahu, who announced his candidacy for Likud leadership last week, visited the eastern town of Beit She’an Sunday, near the Jordanian border, and pledged to turn the ancient city into a tourist Mecca.
“I will turn Beit She’an into a site that draws millions of tourists to the archeological sites in this town,” he said.
Netanyahu started his visit at City Hall, where he was warmly received by Likud activists and Mayor Jackie Levy, who told him, “You are Israel’s next prime minister and the 3,000 Likud members in Beit She’an will back you.”
Levy added: “In the (last) primaries we supported (Prime Minister) Sharon, but Netanyahu was the one who came here to visit the wounded and console the families of those killed in the terror attack that occurred at the Likud branch in Beit She’an.”
The mayor also reviewed government-supported activities in the city Netanyahu supported as Fianance Minister, and said he hoped the Likud challenger would continue to promote Beit She’an, as prime minister.
Democracy lesson
Later, Netanyahu visited a school in the town, where he offered students what he called a “lesson in democracy.”
Criticizing Prime Minister Sharon, Netanyahu told students, “Democracy means disagreements are resolved using a simple method, elections. The key for a decision at the polls is that the loser accepts the results.
“A leader is chosen to advance a specific path, and he cannot change course…he needs to act courageously and ask voters whether to continue on that path. The prime minister received a mandate for a certain path and changed course without asking for the voters’ approval,” Netanyahu concluded.
Later, several students told Ynet they were upset after being exposed to what they characterized as “elections propaganda.”
