Danon: Lapid using ceremony for own political ends

Likud MK tells aspiring politician to step down after 15 years of hosting annual TA Remembrance Day event.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Yair Lapid 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Yair Lapid 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Yair Lapid must refrain from hosting next week’s Remembrance Day ceremony for the Tel Aviv Municipality, MK Danny Danon said on Monday night.
Danon wrote a letter to Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai demanding that the television host-turned-politician be replaced after 15 years of hosting “Singing in the Square,” the municipality’s annual event commemorating fallen soldiers that is held in Rabin Square.
The ceremony, which is open to the public and aired on Channel 10, consists of popular singers performing songs in memory of the fallen, as well as interviews with bereaved families and Lapid reading poetry on the topic.
Last month, Lapid wrote on his Facebook page that he had originated Singing in the Square and could continue to host it without making it political. But Danon disagreed.
“Yair Lapid cannot be allowed to take advantage of his former position to promote his current political agenda,” the MK told The Jerusalem Post. “He cannot have his cake and eat it, too. He needs to understand that a television host who became a left-wing politician must behave accordingly.”
Lapid, whose views are generally considered centrist to left-of-center, says he planned to establish a political party called Atid (Future).
According to Danon, not all bereaved families agree with Lapid’s political views and expect him to step down as host of Singing in the Square.
“Someone as self-righteous as Lapid ought to disqualify himself from hosting the ceremony,” Danon explained.