Journalist-turned-politician Yair Lapid continued to reveal more of his views on
key issues Monday, telling his followers on Facebook that he opposes giving
Israelis abroad the right to vote.
Lapid came out against the so-called
“Omri Casspi Bill,” which is named for the Cleveland Caveliers starting small
forward, who is the first Israeli to play in the NBA.
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Israel Beiteinu, the coalition agreement requires that there be a vote on
enabling Israelis abroad to vote, but the same agreement gives every faction
veto power over changes in the electoral system.
The Likud backs allowing
Israelis living abroad for up to five years to vote, but Shas has threatened to
use its veto to oppose any bill giving the right to vote to Israelis living
abroad for even two months.
Lapid is a former anchorman from Channel 2
who announced earlier this month that he would be forming a new political party
and running in the next Knesset election.
The former journalist dashed
hopes among the bill’s supporters that a coalition with a Lapid-led party
instead of Shas could pass the legislation following the next
election.
“Israel is a country whose existence is constantly threatened,
so people who don’t live here shouldn’t be able to vote on issues like its
borders, bombing Iran, or the settlements,” Lapid wrote. “You cannot decide the
direction of the country if you don’t have to live with the
consequences.”
An Israel Beiteinu spokesman declined to respond to Lapid,
saying “we don’t have to react to his every tweet.”
Lapid also came out
against the “Tal Law” on haredi (ultra-Orthodox) service in the IDF. He said the
law should be repealed and a civil service authority should be
formed.
When asked about separating religion from state, he said he
supported civil marriage and separating religion from politics, but be did not
back a complete separation of religion from state or the cancellation of the Law
of Return.
On diplomatic issues, Lapid said the peace process must be
addressed in a serious manner. He said it has been going on so long that “the
paperwork could reach the moon and back.”
“The wisest people in the world
have been struggling with this conflict for 40 years already,” he
said. “We must return to negotiations and move forward carefully.”