Mofaz: We must maintain Jewish majority

Defense minister speaks to J’lem high school students about security, Omri Sharon’s sentencing and his shift from Likud to Kadima. Student: He was very politically correct

Reuters | Published: 02.15.06, 18:52

Students at Boyer high school managed to get what no reporter has: A senior member of Kadima, Shaul Mofaz, to talk about the conviction of Omri Sharon.

“Anyone who serves the public must face the law and stand the public’s scrutiny. No doubt these are difficult days for the Sharon’s family, but the law applies to everyone in any discipline,” Mofaz said.

Mofaz talked to hundreds of students at Boyer High School in Jerusalem, participating in a political panel that included Ami Ayalon (Labor), Ron Levintal (Shinui), and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.

The students asked Mofaz about his shift from the Likud to Kadima. Mofaz explained that his ideology didn’t change and that the Kadima ideology is “the same as the Likud’s, without the extreme side of it.”

Concerning the issue of any other disengagement, Mofaz explained: Jerusalem will remain united. If we can’t reach an agreement with the Palestinians and we’ll have no partner for peace, we’ll have to take our faith into our own hands to secure the future of the State of Israel.

'Mofaz didn’t really answer questions concretely'

Mofaz stressed the fact that the Israeli permanent borders in the north were established when Israel left Lebanon; also, the border with Egypt was approved as part of the peace treaty. “All we have left is to establish the borders in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), Jordan Valley, and metropolitan Jerusalem, including its surroundings”.

The defense minister explained that “the state of Israel is a Jewish, democratic nation with Jewish majority. We need to maintain the Jewish majority for years to come and find the balance between territory and demography and yield to elements that help us to achieve Jewish majority. At the same time, we must keep areas that are necessary for Israel’s security for the next generations”.

In conversations with the students it appeared that Mofaz is very popular and students described Kadima as a party that speaks to everyone. One student, Omri Siena from the 12th grade referred to Mofaz’s comment about Omri Sharon’s sentencing, said “Mofaz demonstrated that the issue is important as well as sensitive, especially if it’s in your party, but he had to convey his stance”.

Another 12th grader, Naor Amar said that Mofaz “was very politically correct and didn’t really answer questions concretely. However, he proved himself as the minister of defense.”