Lieberman: Labor Party hates minorities
Minister for strategic affairs slams party following approval of Arab minister's appointment. 'The fact that half of the Central Committee members voted against the appointment means that the Labor Party's historical role had ended,' he charges, dubbing Peretz racist
"Racism is Defense Minister Amir Peretz's cynical use of the appointment of Raleb Majadele as minister in order to promote himself in the primary elections. If the primaries issue was not on the agenda, Majadele's appointed would also not be on the agenda," Lieberman said.
The Labor Party's Central Committee on Thursday approved the appointment of Israel's first Muslim cabinet minister, Raleb Majadele. Majadele replaces Ophir Pines-Paz as minister of culture, technology, and sports. The appointment was approved by a very small majority – 253 members voted in favor, while 225 voted against.
Referring to the vote, Lieberman said that "the fact that half of the Central Committee members voted against (the appointment) means that the Labor Party hates minorities and immigrants and that its historic role had come to an end."
Following the vote, Peretz demanded that the appointment be approved by the government on Sunday, but the Prime Minister's Office refused to guarantee that. The Labor chairman's associates warned in response that "delaying this move will be considered racism."
