Slightly more of a surprise than Yair Lapid announcing his entry into politics was today's announcement by Noam Shalit that he is entering politics, and will campaign for a seat in the Labor party under Sheli Yachimovitz.
With the name recognition that he achieved during his amazing campaign to achieve freedom for his son Gilad, and the demeanor and respect with which he conducted himself, this was almost expected.
Some are upset about the move, calling it a cheap ploy, taking advantage of the national trauma, politicizing the entire ordeal, while others see nothing wrong with it - he was in the public limelight for so long that it is almost a natural transition. Some consider his choice of the Labor party rather than supporting Netanyahu to be almost a stab in the back. I don't think he is obligated to support Bibi and run under the Likud just because Bibi successfully negotiated Gilad's release. It was Bibi's responsibility as prime minister, just as it was Olmert's responsibility before that. he should have gratitude that Bibi went the extra mile to get it done, but that doesn't mean Shalit has to become Likudnik. It was Israel that released Gilad, not the Likud.
Minister Gilad Erdan had the most interesting response of all. Erdan said that all the celebrities should wait and not enter politics just yet, leaving behind their careers. According to Erdan there is nothing pushing them to join right now, and doing so forces them to resign their current jobs. Considering that, according to Erdan, there is no intention to hold elections earlier than scheduled, it would be a shame to lose all this talent for so much time. They can take their time, continuing to work in their professions, and join the political arena at a later time, closer to the scheduled elections.
No surprise. He couldn't have done what he did without their help.
ReplyDeleteFrom JPost:
ReplyDelete"Lapid was prompted to make the transition now, before passage of a problematic bill being advanced in the Knesset to institute a cooling off period for journalists making the move to politics."
I imagine he would not want the rightist parties, as they were against releasing the terrorists, but it was under a weak Kadima-Labour government that Gilad was kidnapped, so I would have thought it better for him to go with Yair Lapid. However, I wish him well, so I hope he is high in Labour, because I don't want them to have too many seats.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly Ehud Goldwasser's wife and mother were comptemplating joining Kadima.