Israel
requires a debate between its top candidates to ensure that the public
will know what they stand for, the Movement for Quality Government wrote
in a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his competition in
the January 22 election on Monday.
There has
not been a debate between all the candidates running for prime minister
in Israel since the election between Netanyahu and then-prime minister
Shimon Peres in 1996. Since then, the candidate perceived as the
front-runner always scuttled plans for a debate.
"In
a democratic country in which elected officials are our
representatives, it is especially important to have an organized public
debate between those who see themselves as prime ministerial
candidates," the movement wrote in the letter.
The
movement said the short and intensive election Israel is holding made
it even more crucial that a debate be held. It said a debate would allow
candidates to sharpen their views and separate themselves from the
pack.
Following the debate between US
presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, Yesh Atid leader
Yair Lapid called for Israel to hold a debate. Netanyahu's office
declined to respond to the challenge.