Netanyahu: Kadima will sell parts of J'lem

Likud leader tells Shas leader that ruling party failed not only in diplomacy but also in Jewish education.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
bibi 298 88 aj (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
bibi 298 88 aj
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
"Jerusalem was destroyed several times, taken from our people again and again, but the Jewish People never let go of Jerusalem," opposition leader and Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu told Rabbi Ovadia Yosef on Sunday, in what appeared to be a stab against the "diplomatic horizon" offered by Kadima's foreign policy agenda. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is the spiritual leader of the Shas party, an ultra-orthodox faction which has played a critical role in maintaining the current government coalition, led by Kadima. Speaking of the need for Jewish education, Netanyahu said "the proof to what extent we need [Jewish education] can be seen already today," adding "and here we find, for the first time in the history of our nation something we have never seen before: a ruling political party offering pieces of Jerusalem, parts of the city dear to our heritage, to strangers, even to our worst enemies. I see this not only as a political failure, not only a security threat but also a fundamental failure in education." Yosef, for his part, congratulated Netanyahu on "secret things" he has done "for the sake of Torah," saying, "there are a lot of things he did in secret solely for the sake of Heaven." Meanwhile, Kadima associates of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Netanyahu "used the same kind of incitement against [former Prime Minister Shimon] Peres, [former Prime Minister Ehud] Barak and now against Olmert and Kadima." "Nothing has changed in the past ten years. Netanyahu has not even bothered airing out his election catchphrases. After a decade it's time to find a new, reliable campaign motto, and stop threatening the public with empty propaganda. Netanyahu knows full well that the subject of Jerusalem has not been discussed with the Palestinians. Therefore, nobody decided on dividing Jerusalem, and no steps in this direction have been taken," Olmert's aides said.