Lapid: Netanyahu is giving in to Haredim on every issue
Addressing protest against religious coercion in southern city of Ashdod, Yesh Atid leader tells Ynet: 'People have woken up; they feel they are being trampled.'
Addressing Saturday evening's protest against religious coercion in the southern city of Ashdod, Lapid told Ynet: "This isn't just a secular struggle. It's a struggle of traditional people too and of anyone who thinks he has the right and the freedom of choice in this country." Some 2,500 Ashdod residents took part in the demonstration, which was also attended by Lapid.
"People have woken up," the Yesh Atid leader said. "They feel they are being trampled. This protest is also against Netanyahu, who is giving in to the Haredim on every issue."
Commenting on claims that he was using the protest to make a political profit, Lapid said he had simply gone there to voice his support.
"The goal is to come and be part of a joint struggle, because the Supermarkets Law is offensive. The Haredim can't force their lifestyle on us. If I don't go into (Shat leader Aryeh) Deri and (Knesset Member Moshe) Gafni's home, they shouldn't come into my home and tell me how to live.
"Every time someone throws some bill at Netanyahu which offends the majority of the public, he agrees. Keeping his coalition is so important for him. I think people have had enough of others trying to impose things they're not interested in on them. This is a 'crawling takeover' of Haredi coercion, and we won't let it pass."
Asked if these battles would affect the coalition's stability, Lapid replied: "I think that in general it's time to harm Netanyahu's coalition, because it isn’t working for Israel's citizens. We're talking about a group of politicians which doesn’t like each other and is constantly engaged in internal battles."
The Yesh Atid leader added that Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman was right to visit a shopping center in Ashdod on Shabbat but said he had trouble understanding "why he keeps sitting in this government, which kicks everything his public cares about. I'm very happy that he woke up."
Shas MK: Lieberman crossed a red line'
Meanwhile Sunday, Shas MK Michael Malkieli told Ynet that Lieberman had crossed a red line by visiting Ashdod on Shabbat.
"A senior government minister goes to a quiet and mixed town and sparks hatred in order to gain votes for political purposes," he said. "This isn't a political debate. It has become a hatred debate. We think it's wrong."
MK Oded Forer, from Lieberman's Yisrael Beytenu party, said in response: "You can't violate the status quo on one hand and then say that the protest evokes hatred. We are saying, live and let live. Don’t interfere with Saturday morning's cup of coffee, and we won't interfere with your Haredi neighborhoods."
Asked why Yisrael Beytenu remained in the government, Forer replied: "We are the only ones who voted against this legislation (the Supermarkets Law). Furthermore, we can't understand what happened to our friends in the Likud. Why are they allowing this unruly behavior?"
MK Malkieli replied, "When Lieberman entered the coalition, he knew that the status quo would be maintained as part of the coalition agreement. Now the mayor is coming and enforcing the law. The Knesset said its piece. Lieberman and his faction opposed the law, and they could have quit."
Forer concluded, "The bottom line is that if the religious coercion continues, we won't allow it. I'm saying to my friends in the coalition, you'll have to make a choice. The Haredi factions must get off their high horse and stop this legislation."
