Bibi (left) with Silvan Shalom at Likud rally
Photo: AP
'We are not scary.' Rivlin
Photo: Amit Shaby
Likud MK: Olmert will divide Jerusalem
A week before elections Likud party holds large rally in capital. Senior members attack press ('they sling dirt at us') Kadima ('they hate us'), and Shimon Peres
Senior Likud members spoke at a large elections rally in Jerusalem a week before the general elections, as officials tried to energize activists before the country goes to the polls.
Knesset Member Uzi Landau gave an optimistic speech following an elections tour he held: "The press can't stand us, the people love us. What can we do? I know that the general public is angry at us for all kinds of reasons. Close to 30 mandates are making up their minds, but one thing is for sure – Jerusalemites don't like Olmert, and we'll see this in the polls."
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Landau was warmly received by party activists, who stood and applauded when he entered the hall.
Knesset Member Gideon Saar was also furious with the press: "The media drags our name through the mud, and what is left for us is to prove them wrong in the polls. You won't find a single word on Bibi (Netanyahu), his leadership skills; it's all dirt," he lamented.
Former Health Minister Danny Naveh described the fateful day in which "we will all sit across the television with a fast pulse and tension. Reality will strike Kadima in the face. Our real mission is to talk to all Likud supporters first; those who voted for Likud over the years."
He continued: "Yesterday I was at Teddy (soccer stadium) in the VIP section, and some businessmen from Kadima sat there. But in the eastern section (where Betar's most loyal fans sit), there was a big Likud sign. This is our real public."
‘They hate us’
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said that "Peres and Olmert will divide Jerusalem. They are dividing the portfolios already but Peres, who hasn't even managed to beat (Labor Chairman Amir) Peretz, has gone to a party in which he does not have to be elected."
At this stage Rivlin's speech was interrupted, when an organizer turned to the crowd and said "there's a little girl here looking for her daughter." But Rivlin wasn't confused for a moment, and said: "The girl is not looking for her mother; she is looking for the warm home of the Likud."
Rivlin continued: "They hate the Likud." In response, an activist shouted to him: "No, they are scared of us." Rivlin answered: "We are not scary; it's not important to them who heads the Likud, whether it's (Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon, (Acting Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert, or Bibi – they hate us. They are already dividing the (ministerial) portfolios but they don’t know one thing: No one in this hall has voted yet. After we vote they will they change their tone."
