‘No chance’ for vote on Yad Vashem chair, says Blue and White
Effi Eitam, who served as an IDF brigadier general and as an MK and minister for the hard-right National Union party, made a series of controversial comments during his political career
By JEREMY SHARONEffi Eitam, seen at the Jerusalem Supreme Court during a hearing on oil searching in the Golan Heights, on December 23, 2014.(photo credit: FLASH90)
Well-placed sources in the Blue and White Party have said there is virtually no chance that the candidacy of controversial former hard-Right politician, Effi Eitam, to chair Yad Vashem will be approved.A source told The Jerusalem Post that due to the current political turmoil, there was practically “zero chance” that appointments to senior positions in state institutions would be brought to a vote in the cabinet, as is required for the chairman of Yad Vashem.The source added that even if Eitam’s candidacy were to be put forward, there is no way Blue and White would vote in favor.Even if the current government falls and new elections are called, the terms of the coalition agreement and the legislation passed to anchor it in law mean that the prime minister could not dismiss Blue and White ministers from the cabinet, meaning that there would be no way to bring Eitam’s candidacy to a vote before a new government is formed.Eitam, who served as an IDF brigadier-general and as an MK and minister for the hard-Right National Union Party, made a series of controversial comments during his political career, including calling for the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank and the exclusion of Israeli Arabs from the Israeli political system.He was also reprimanded by the IDF military advocate general over an incident in which soldiers under his command beat a Palestinian detainee to death.A fierce campaign has formed against Eitam’s candidacy and Israeli opposition figures and Holocaust survivors, Jewish historians, academics and museum curators from around the world have all spoken strongly against it. Many have argued that it would undermine the institution’s reputation.Higher Education Minister Ze’ev Elkin, who nominated Eitam with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval, has refused to back down from his support of Eitam.
