Meretz
officially launched its election campaign on Wednesday under the slogan "No compromise."
Party officials admitted that the war in Gaza hurt its prospects and said they plan on reverting public discourse to economic and environmental issues, as well as to the economic crisis.
The general elections are scheduled for February 10.
During a press conference in Tel Aviv, Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron assailed Yisrael Beiteinu head
Knesset Member Avigdor Lieberman, saying "we are witnessing the return of Kahanism; actually, this is worse than Kahanism because Lieberman has support."
Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-1990) was an American-Israeli Orthodox rabbi and a Knesset member. Kahane founded two political movements: The Jewish Defense League (JDL) in the USA and Kach in Israel. The latter won a single Knesset seat in 1984, and its radical right-wing ideology, which called for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel and the Palestinian territories, was labeled racist; in 1994 the movement was outlawed completely. Kahane was assassinated in Manhattan in 1990.
Nitzan Horowitz, ranked third on Meretz's Knesset roster, added "at a time when the whole world is celebrating with (US President Barack) Obama, Israel is deteriorating to Lieberman's racism."
Referring to Shas Chairman Eli Yishai's statement
according to which one of his party's main goals in the next Knesset would be to promote a bill banning the gay pride parade in Jerusalem, Oron said "this is another indication of society's moral deterioration. This statement alone should bar Yishai from serving as minister of education in any government."
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