What’s to celebrate? Lapid assails government at Knesset 75th anniversary celebration

Israel’s political system is broken, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid charged from the Knesset rostrum on Wednesday, calling on lawmakers to ask themselves how such a powerful country could find itself invaded by a terrorist mob that was allowed to rampage through the south for hours on October 7.

“We gathered here today to celebrate the Knesset’s birthday. I want to ask the Knesset: What is there to celebrate?” Lapid demanded of his fellow MKs during a special parliamentary session marking the Knesset’s 75th anniversary. “Do you see anyone else celebrating in the country?”

Israel has “never been sadder,” he proclaimed, adding that “the political system today is not the solution, it is the problem. The Knesset and the government are not the solution, they are the problem.”

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been forced out of their homes by the fighting and “no one has an answer to the question of when they will be able to return.” One hundred and thirty-six Israelis are still being held captive in Gaza and “no one knows when they will return to their homes,” he said, claiming that Israel lacks a strategy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been reluctant to release a plan for the “day after” in Gaza, even as it comes under increasing American pressure to restart the peace process and involve the Palestinian Authority in the postwar governance of the coastal Palestinian enclave.

“Every day more and more soldiers are killed, and no one knows when it will end. What is the plan?” he asked, calling for the government to make the return of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza its top priority, ahead of the destruction of Hamas, which he said could wait until all the captives return home.

“For the sake of life and for those who are being buried right now, we must make a change,” he said.

Lapid’s comments came only days after he urged Netanyahu to negotiate a date for new elections.

“Let’s sit down, you and I, the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, and set a date,” he appealed, arguing that elections are inevitable.

Following the October 7 attack, trust in the government dropped to what the Israel Democracy Institute said was a 20-year low. According to a survey released by the Jerusalem-based think tank last month, more than two-thirds of Israelis believe that elections should be called as soon as the war against Hamas is concluded.

Lapid’s comments were not well received by the Knesset, with some lawmakers — including several members of the opposition — calling out in protest.

“In a state ceremony that was all about the need to unite and win the war against Hamas, and the tragedy that happened a few days ago, Yair Lapid chose to deal with division, not unity,” criticized Likud MK Dan Illouz.

Netanyahu, who appeared to roll his eyes and sigh during Lapid’s remarks, addressed criticisms of his government’s war plans, asserting that “we have defined the goals of the war and they exist and are tangible — to bring down the rule of Hamas and bring all our hostages home.”

“Today the best of our sons are buried in the soil of Israel” and “we will continue to strive with determination to defeat the cruel enemy and continue the national renaissance, thus fulfilling the wishes of our mighty sons, mighty in spirit and action. Their will could not be clearer,” he said.

“There is and will never be any compromise on matters that concern guaranteeing our existence and our future for generations,” Netanyahu continued, claiming that Hamas “deluded itself” that Israel is weak and would break under attack.

His statement came as Israeli officials have been pushing back against reports that negotiations with Hamas over a potential hostage release deal were advancing.

According to reports in international news outlets Tuesday, Israel and Hamas are moving toward an agreement that would see some captives held in Gaza released while Israel pauses its military campaign for several weeks or longer, though a number of senior right-wing politicians indicated that they would not be comfortable with the Israel Defense Forces laying down its arms.

Striking a more conciliatory tone, President Isaac Herzog told the Knesset that it is imperative not to return to the fractious political discourse prior to October 7.

Those who have fallen in battle in Gaza represent “the best of the best” of Israeli society and reflect a mosaic of people “from all over the country, from every community, a variety of lifestyles, worldviews, beliefs and religions,” he said, quoting the mother of one soldier who declared that “if the heavy price of losing my son was for the unity of the people, I am ready to accept it with submission and love.”

“On this day, the birthday of the Israeli Knesset – the temple of our democracy – it is important for me to emphasize: Unity is not uniformity, unity is not silencing, unity is not the cessation of discussion and debate on matters that concern the core of the existence of the Israeli state, society and democracy,” Herzog continued.

“No one has a doubt that this house will very soon hold the most important and probably the most stormy debates there are” and “it is impossible to talk about mutual respect and unity without the Knesset taking a central part in the change.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.