Zell expressed hope that “the Israeli party will have more common sense than its American namesake.” But then Zell walked back the criticism.“To be clear the GOP/ROI didn’t criticize the name,” he tweeted. “We merely thought it odd that a fledgling Israeli party would choose a name associated with a growing wave of anti-Israel & anti-Semitic sentiment. It’s the Dems who are upset.”ROI co-chairman Kory Bardash said that he did not think Barak intended to connect his party to its American namesake.“He just translated poorly from Twitter,” Bardash said.Barak responded on KAN radio to critics who said that the name is unfit for a party that is not democratic by saying his party’s institutions would be ready for the next election after the one in September.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to Barak’s party name saying that the Israeli media was giving too much attention to “a fringe candidate who had no chance.”Blue and White No. 2 Yair Lapid responded to Barak’s choice by quoting from Shakespeare: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.”I can't figure out why @barak_ehud would want to identify with a party that has gone off the rails especially when it concerns Israel and the Jewish People. Just sayin'... https://t.co/686W5GrsYN
— Marc Zell (@GOPIsrael) July 7, 2019
Republicans and Democrats slam Barak over choice of new party's name
Barak responded to critics, who said that the name is unfit for a party that is not democratic, by saying his party’s institutions would be ready for the next election following the upcoming one.
