Meridor compares Likud policies to apartheid
In an interview at Harvard, former deputy PM unleashes harsh critique of his party’s pro-settler, anti-immigrant positions
Dan Meridor, former deputy prime minister and long-standing Likud member, compared Likud’s present policies to those of apartheid South Africa, during an interview at Harvard University.
Meridor also specifically attacked Likud MK Miri Regev’s past statements about African migrants in Israel.
In the candid interview recorded by a Harvard University student and aired by Walla News, Meridor stated that Likud was focused solely on the settlements and does not concern itself with issues of human rights, democracy, and equality.
“I heard [a Likud member] saying he is for human rights, but not civil rights [for the Palestinians],” Meridor said. “What’s the difference? No voting. It’s like South Africa.”
“I think it’s dangerous,” he continued. “I think it’s not Likud. It’s a dramatic departure from Likud’s historical [stance].”
In response to a question about MK Miri Regev’s past statements that compared the African migrants to a cancer, Meridor deemed it “awful language.”
“I could not believe we belong to the same [party],” Meridor said. He added it was disconcerting to hear Jews speak in such a way.
“I don’t remember every word I said,” Meridor later told Walla News regarding the interview. “But I stand behind every word I said.”
Meridor served previously as justice minister, finance minister, deputy prime minister, and most recently, minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy, all under the banner of Likud. He is now a lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School.
The Times of Israel Community.