Ayelet Shaked: Blue and White’s only ideology is ‘just not Netanyahu’
‘Yes, just not Bibi because he has decided to destroy democracy,’ Yair Lapid retorts
By JEREMY SHARONYamina MK Ayelet Shaked speaks at the Maariv Business Conference on February 26, 2020
Senior Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked accused the Blue and White Party of lacking a coherent ideology or political identity apart from seeking to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office.Speaking at a conference of the Maariv newspaper on Wednesday, Shaked also attacked the Likud for backing US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, saying that Yamina was the only party to oppose a Palestinian state.“If Netanyahu succeeds in boosting his voter turnout and to awaken the Likud strongholds, we will succeed,” said Shaked.Voter turnout in cities where the Likud received the largest number of votes in the September election was relatively low compared to the national average, whereas turnout in cities where Blue and White was the largest party was significantly higher.Netanyahu has therefore been crisscrossing the country to rally the Likud’s base of voters, in an effort to break the electoral deadlock.But Shaked also criticized the prime minister for his attacks against Yamina, saying “Netanyahu would do well to stop his attacks on us.”She also had harsh words for Blue and White, asserting that “Blue and White has nothing in common apart from the ideology of ‘just not Bibi [Netanyahu].’”“They have left-wingers, some socialists, some capitalists, some in favor of the nation-state law. It’s a hodgepodge of opinions.”The Yamina MK also admitted to seeking to convince right-wing Blue and White MKs Yoaz Hendel and Zvi Hauser to cross the aisle during coalition negotiations in order to form a right-wing/religious government.“We wanted Hendel and Hauser to come to us, and to increase the size of the [right-wing] bloc and dismantle them [Blue and White],” said Shaked.
Senior Blue and White MK Yair Lapid responded on Tuesday night to the claims against his party that its only unifying factor is its desire to remove Netanyahu, insisting that this is a critical and urgent goal.“Yes, just not Bibi!!!,” he declared on his Facebook page.“For the boorishness, for the lies, for the lack of moral compass. For his understanding that if Israel remains a democracy he will go to prison, so has decided to destroy democracy. He will destroy the courts, legislate an immunity law and legislate a High Court override law.... Enough Bibi, 14 years is a lot. Much too much.”