Uri Orbach
Photo: Gabi Menashe
The fake Tzipi Livni
Kadima chairwoman's attempt to play up secular fears sounds like PR ploy
I really don’t believe in reincarnation, yet a few days ago my disbelief was somewhat undermined. Tzipi Livni
stood on stage at a Kadima
meeting, yet out of our mouth spoke former Shinui Chairman Tommy Lapid. It was odd, as Tommy is no longer with us; he must be in heaven, arguing with some great rabbis. Yet here was Tzipi: “Kadima will represent Israel
and determine its identity as a Jewish state, without selling off the state to the ultra-Orthodox along the way.”
I must say this surprised me. Hey, it’s Tommy Lapid. That’s not the kind of statement that is commensurate with the blurred figure heading Kadima. This is juicy, unequivocal, and filled with hostility and hot blood. After all, Tzipi Livni never spoke like this. “Selling off the state to the ultra-Orthodox” even has some hidden, and overt, anti-Semitic tones. There are plenty of things one can find in this statement, yet it includes very little of the good old, pale Tzipi Livni.
Jewish Vision
Ronen Medzini
Foreign minister addresses UJC's General Assembly in Jerusalem, says 'Jewish state is the nature, tradition and history of our people, regardless of what one chooses to do at one's own home on Shabbat and holidays'
After regaining my senses, I realized this was not Tommy speaking; rather, we were dealing with one of the public relations consultants that surround Livni these days. They are telling her to convey determination and belligerence toward the Orthodox and to woo the secularist Center, so that it would stay away from Bibi; and she’s going along with it.
The statement “we won’t sell off the state to the ultra-Orthodox” is playing up the old fears while trying to enlist them to the campaign. This is Livni’s way of saying that the state belongs to the seculars and that Kadima will protect it from the ultra-Orthodox. Even after the failure of coalition talks with Shas she went for “we didn’t cave in to extortion,” and now she is again going for the connection between the Orthodox and money. Selling off the state is like selling your mother; like selling anything dear to your heart. So hit those Orthodox and save the state.
I watched her speech and then watched it again. Her statement left an unpleasant odor in the air not only because of its hostile and divisive tone, but rather, because of its fakeness. You could see that she only said it for election reasons, just because someone advised her to say it; just because someone told her it will help her at this time, and that this is the season when one can garner votes by playing up fears of the Orthodox.
Tzipi Livni adopted new views in recent years, and now she is also adopting a new style. She practices pauses and stronger tones when she speaks, she tries to sound impassioned in a way that does not match her cool character and body language, she recites messages that do not match her views, assuming she has any, and she tries to excite others without being excited herself.
So, you’re not going to sell off the state? Sorry, we don’t buy this style.
