Opposition leader Yair Lapid said in an interview with 92NY community center in New York Thursday that the government's proposed plan to shake up the judiciary and the subsequent protests weakened Israel in the days leading up to Hamas's surprise deadly attack on October 7. "I understand the people who said 'okay, we weakened ourselves in this fight. We took it one step further'," he said.
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However, he clarified that the blame for "weakening the country," in his words, primarily falls on those who promoted the laws. "I think when you are threatening Israel's democracy you're weakening the country. Democracy is the reason we have the inner strength we need to fight what we're facing."
Lapid qualified his statement after being asked whether he thought the protest was to blame for the disaster. "I met today with the protesters. What they have built here in Expo Tel Aviv is an unbelievable operation helping everybody who was forced out of his home and the victims and the families of the victims. These are great Israeli patriots. They didn't weaken this country, they have strengthened this country."
Lapid explained his decision not to join the emergency government as National Unity Chairman Benny Gantz did stemmed from "technical reasons." "I was the first person to say we need the unity government. But I told Netanyahu, "again, I'm not going to be a cheerleader.' I mean, I want to know what is it that I do, what kind of authority am I going to have? And it turned out I didn't want this to work this way. So fine. I have so many ways to work for my country in a time of need and unity is not only about the government unitu is about the people to begin with."
"we have suffered the consequences of a false sense of safety. And therefore we allow ourselves to dive into the polarization of modern-day politics," Lapid added. "So we dive directly into the festival of diversity. And now we were reminded in a painful way that the real risks we have from the outside."
He also argued that there is no alternative other than a ground offensive to topple Hamas' rule, and afterward, the Palestinian Authority will govern Gaza “with a very strong support system of the international community and the moderate Arab world.” However, according to him, to reach this situation, one must first cross a “river of war and pain."
Lapid also reiterated that he would support the government's decisions or any agreement presented to him. Lapid's remarks came hours after he was asked if he, as a former prime minister, also bears responsibility for any oversight - to which he responded: "If everyone is responsible, no one is accountable."