Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid is not the leader of the opposition – a position reserved for the head of the largest non-coalition party, in this government, Zionist Union – but he is positioning himself as an alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and tells Ynet today: “The next election will be Lapid vs. Netanyahu.”
The Yesh Atid leader, who served in the coalition in the previous government as finance minister, says the next election may take place as soon as next year, even as Israel is just getting over a campaign that ended in late March.
“Our international standing is abysmal; we’re moving backwards in every field,” Lapid says.
Lapid in recent months has taken positions which often agree with the government in spirit but nevertheless are sharply critical of it. For example, he called on Netanyahu to step down due to his “failure,” in Lapid’s words, to influence the nuclear deal with Iran. Lapid shares the prime minister’s view that the agreement is bad for Israel, but sees the PM as primarily responsible for that failure.
Yair Lapid, speaks during a Yesh Atid party meeting at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem on July 20, 2015. ( Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
