Lapid warns extremism could lead to downfall of Jewish state

Opposition leader Yair Lapid warns against extremism undermining the future of the Jewish state at a special Knesset session to mark the 163rd birthday of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism.

“For 2,000 years Jews learned one central lesson, that extremism leads to the destruction of the [Jewish] homeland. That is our national trauma,” says Lapid.

“It is inconceivable that after 75 years of sovereignty, we have forgotten this already. And it’s inconceivable that we have forgotten that part of being Jewish is to accept the non-Jews who live among us,” he says noting that in the Bible, the commandment “to love the stranger because we were strangers in Egypt” appears 36 times.

“He who thinks that Judaism is a call to hate Arabs is apparently reading the wrong book,” Lapid says.