MK Ofir Sofer was the first to receive questions at the “Local KKL-JNF Friday” event that took place on Friday, June 28, at the Migdal Ha’emek Music Center. In response to journalist Ron Kofman’s question about the possibility of URWP being headed by Ayelet Shaked, he said: “Ayelet Shaked is an example of how Religious Zionism accepts someone who is slightly different. However, it’s not clear whether it’s appropriate that a secular woman should head a religious Zionist party.”
Regarding Avigdor Lieberman, he said, “We are talking about the chairman of a party who decided to deceive those who voted in his five Knesset seats. He said that he supported the prime minister, and then he started playing a political game and in the end, he took his five seats away and caused the country to lose billions of shekels. I find it very difficult to understand the people who voted for Yisrael Beitenu (Lieberman’s party), those who voted for him after he served as defense minister. What we learned about Lieberman is that his word means nothing. Maybe people are impressed by his cool look and his byte-like sentences, but there’s no content whatsoever behind his words.”
Regarding Netanyahu’s various legal troubles, he said, “We have a prime minister who’s doing an excellent job, and he needs a strong right-wing party by his side to protect the state of Israel’s identity. We’ve never before seen anything like the campaign that the Leftists are running now, they’re trying to replace the government in every possible way. We’ve seen in the past how other indictments began and how they eventually ended.”
In his remarks, MK Sofer also related to young people from Israel’s peripheral regions who enlist in the army: “The youth in the periphery region are greatly motivated to serve in a meaningful way and to enlist in combat units, and that makes me very happy. The status of the IDF combat soldiers should be elevated; they should be seen as our greatest pride and joy.”
It was then Blue and White MK Boaz Toporovsky’s turn. When asked about the panic level in his party after Ehud Barak rejoined politics, MK Toporovsky answered: “No one is panicking. Barak’s re-entry into politics emphasizes the fact that there is no longer right or left. That used to be the case in the twentieth century. Blue and White is a centrist party. Barak is talking about a merger of the leftist parties. People will understand that these elections are about Binyamin Netanyahu and everything he stands for, as opposed to Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid.”
Ron Kofman then asked him about the viability of a party with four leaders at its head. MK Toporovsky replied, “I know all four and we have an agreement. We survived an attempt to tear us apart by the number-one-expert in the field – Binyamin Netanyahu. He tried to do a ‘divide and conquer’ number on us. He tried to take Blue and White apart and he wasn’t successful. Regardless of everything people might say about us, our resilience is much greater than what people think.”
When asked about the rotation agreement between Gantz and Lapid, and about the possibility that Gabi Ashkenazi would eventually head Blue and White, he said, “The rotation agreement is alive and kicking. The ultra-orthodox parties don’t rule out sitting in a government with Blue and White. People should pay attention to the fine nuances in what Litzman and Deri say.”
At the event, Migdal Ha’emek Mayor Eli Barda spoke about the city’s development and
cooperation with KKL-JNF. “In the near future we’re going to have a meeting about establishing a
KKL-JNF House for Excellence in our city. This a project that KKL-JNF would bring to the city - a center with many resources and activities that will have a positive influence on our students’ education and leadership. We see a need for this. Together with KKL-JNF and KKL-JNF World Chairman Daniel Atar, we recently started promoting a collaboration between the regional councils of Migdal Ha’emek, Emek Yizri’el and Yafi’a to create a project around Balfour Forest, in order to promote the connection between the communities and ecology and the environment, and to increase public awareness of this topic.”
Israeli singer Regev Hod performed at the end of the event, showering his fans with renditions of all his best-loved hits.
“Local KKL-JNF Friday” started about a month ago with an event in Netivot in the south, and others like it will be held in other communities in northern and southern Israel. The events take place on Fridays and are open to the public free of charge.
Said KKL-JNF World Chairman Daniel Atar: “The Local KKL-JNF Friday event in Migdal Ha’emek was a great success, as were the two previous events in Netivot and Merhavim. This event is another stage of KKL-JNF’s work for the benefit of Israel’s peripheral regions, with the goal of bringing added value to the north and
increasing the number of residents here in the future. KKL-JNF is working around the clock to strengthen Israel’s periphery by promoting
informal education, protection of the environment, sustainability and supporting the settlement of these regions.”