Lapid refuses Regev’s demand that Independence Day remain protest-free: ‘Can’t pretend we’re celebrating together’

Opposition leader Yair Lapid refuses to issue a joint statement with Transportation Minister Miri Regev calling for Israel’s Independence Day to be free of protests.

“We will not pretend that we are celebrating together and that everything is fine while the government is tearing apart the people of Israel and erasing democracy, and we will not sit back and watch another embarrassing show of flattery for the Netanyahu family,” Lapid says in a statement.

Opposition MK Chili Tropper called yesterday for coalition lawmakers to agree that Israel’s Memorial Day, the day before Independence Day, should be free of protests.

According to the Walla news site, MK Benny Gantz’s National Unity party signed onto the agreement and Economy Minister Nir Barkat was recruiting signatories from the Likud party.

However, Regev, who is in charge of the country’s central Independence Day ceremony, refused unless the agreement was extended to that day also.

Memorial Day, set to begin the evening of April 24, sees large swaths of the Israeli public visiting the graves of loved ones who have been killed. Many of the ceremonies around the country feature speeches by ministers.