Transportation minister's office says he is still considering his next move, all options are open.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFMofaz prince of Persia 224.88(photo credit: AP)
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz continued to keep his supporters in the dark on his political future on Tuesday, as he formally informed Cabinet Secretary Ovad Yehezkel he was taking a vacation until October 2.
The request followed Mofaz's announcement last Thursday that he would take a break from political life in the aftermath of his narrow defeat to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in the Kadima leadership primary.
But while pundits immediately speculated that Mofaz was leaving the party, cabinet and Knesset, his followers held fast to their faith in his dedication to public service and insisted he would return after the break.
A close associate, Avi Duan, discounted media reports Tuesday that Mofaz planned to decide whether to return only after Rosh Hashana.
"It's not true," he told The Jerusalem Post. "We believe that he is returning."
On Tuesday night Duan was among several hundred supporters who gathered at the Kadima Party headquarters in Petah Tikva to pledge loyalty to Mofaz at a Rosh Hashana toast and to request that he shorten his vacation and return immediately to the party.
MK Ronit Tirosh (Kadima) called on Mofaz supporters to come to a rally outside the minister's Kochav Yair home on Thursday night to demand his return.
Appealing to Mofaz from the podium at Kadima headquarters, Tourism Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balila (Kadima) said, "Shaul, we are asking you to make your vacation as short as possible. The nation needs your experience and Kadima needs your leadership."
"Throughout your life, as a soldier, as a chief of General Staff and as defense minister you have always responded to the call to serve. You have always volunteered for every national mission. This is your national mission." she said.
"This is the hour of your emergency call-up to serve," said Avraham-Balila. "We want you and we need you."
Tirosh warned the media and the Israeli public not to put words into Mofaz's mouth. When Mofaz said last week that he was taking a time-out, he did not mean that he was quitting, she said. He meant simply that he was taking a break.
"When people ask when is he returning, I say, 'He hasn't gone anywhere," Tirosh said.
Duan told Mofaz supporters that the time had come to unify Mofaz's and Livni's camps.
"The right person to lead Kadima is Tzipi Livni and Shaul Mofaz together," he said.
With elections looming, it was very important that the party be united, said Duan. "We can not survive if we are fighting."
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