Another electoral win for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition would spell “the end of Zionism” and the Jewish state, opposition leader Yair Lapid has declared.
“We are in an election year. Since 1948, there has not been a more critical year for the fate of the nation,” Lapid told activists at a party gathering on Monday, warning that if Netanyahu wins, “the state will fall apart.”
“There are two possibilities,” the opposition leader continued: “Either a successful, first-world country, loved worldwide, with liberal values and a love for tradition, or a violent and backward third-world country that turns Judaism into racism and seeks to dismantle our democracy.”
Lapid outlined his party Yesh Atid’s vision for an alternative government, vowing reforms including a constitution, education investment, anti-corruption measures, stronger protections for the judiciary and law enforcement, and “above all,” returning the remaining 48 hostages still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
