Yachimovich, Lapid bicker on Facebook
Israeli politicians move battlefield from Knesset to social network
Aaron Kalman is a former writer and breaking news editor for the Times of Israel
Finance Minister Yair Lapid on Monday commented on a Facebook post by opposition leader Shelly Yachimovich, prompting her to respond, as the two squabbled over a bill aimed at limiting the amount of time allotted government offices to pay service providers.
While the topic is certainly worthy of debate, the politicians’ fight on the social network made it look far less serious than if they had been shouting at each other in the Knesset.
According to Yachimovich’s first post, a bill coauthored by her and coalition chairman Yariv Levin (Likud) would have forced the various branches of government to pay with checks cashable no more than 30 days after the completion of the deal. However, she charged via Facebook, Lapid torpedoed the motion solely because he wanted to pass his own law on the same topic and gain publicity points.
In response, Lapid commented on Yachimovich’s original post, accusing the opposition head of shirking her responsibility by turning down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offer of the Finance Ministry. Had she really wanted to make policy changes and lead the country, she would have taken the position that ultimately went to him.
“… It’s not the first time MK Yachimovich loses her nerves under pressure,” Lapid wrote. “Yachimovich was so infuriated … that she ran to push her bill forward and get a populist headline.”
Shortly afterward, Yachimovich cropped the finance minister’s response to her first post into a new photo, which she posted while slamming the rookie politician’s grasp of the political and legislative system. In her new post, Yachimovich reiterated her initial question: Why did the finance minister kill a bill that would have helped members of his constituency in the middle class?
“I read your post and still didn’t get an answer to the question… Beyond the aggressiveness in your response, beyond your lack of self-restraint, beyond the whiff of chauvinism in your description of me, you’re being — how shall we phrase it — inaccurate.”
Lapid’s answer, we can assume, won’t be long in coming.
The Times of Israel Community.