By COLlive reporter
Senior Israeli commentator Nahum Barnea wrote in his widely read column in Yedioth Ahronoth about a conversation that Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid had with “one of the heads of Chabad.”
According to Barnea, Lapid threatened the chossid: “If you support the party of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, I will pursue you. The story of menorahs at every intersection on Chanukah and Chabad Houses around the world is over. Your story about Ahavas Yisroel is over.”
The supposed comments were referring to the Religious Zionist party, which is comprised of the right-wing National Union party led by Betzalel Smotrich and the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Ben-Gvir, a straight-forward activist and lawyer, has been a follower of the hardliner Rabbi Meir Kahane HY”D whose Kach party was outlawed by the Knesset and was later assassinated by an Arab terrorist in 1990. Ben-Gvir recently stated that he isn’t Kahane’s “successor.”
While Chabad-Lubavitch in Israel has a strict policy, instituted by the Rebbe, not to endorse elected officials or parties, Chassidim typically vote for parties adhering to shleimus ha’am, shleimus ha’aretz, and shleimus hatorah (the wholeness of the people of Israel, the Land of Israel and the Torah) and there’s more than one party that fits the bill.
The remarks attributed to Lapid, chairman of the center-left Yesh Atid party, drew an immediate backlash from a wide range of politicians and candidates in the upcoming national election in Israel.
Knesset member Orly Levy-Abekasis, a centrist, commented that she was “shocked” by the report.
“There is no other definition to such words other than abysmal hatred, threatening conversation, and a disgraceful attempt to divide. Lapid is obligated to immediately clarify his words,” she wrote, adding that Ahavas Yisroel should not be taken as “hostage.”
Yamina party leader Naftali Bennett, who studied in Chabad in his youth in Montreal, Canada, and who may form a coalition headed by Lapid, was quick to condemn it as well.
“Chabad has been saving countless Jews around the world for decades. They do not take a shekel from the State of Israel. In every global disaster in India or Nepal, they are there for us,” he wrote.
“Lapid dares to threaten all this because of politics?! Would he dare say that to a group of pilots who want to vote for Meretz?!” he asked, referring to the extreme left party.
According to Bennett, “Chabad emissaries give up their lives together with their families in all corners of the globe, in difficult places like Siberia, Venezuela and Alaska just to reach another Jew.”
Bennett added: “Beloved Chabad emissaries – keep going. This foolish threat will evaporate into the dustbin of history. I love you together with all the people of Israel.”
“The whole difference between Chabad and Lapid in one threat,” Smotrich, a former transportation minister, responded. “The Chabad movement is careful not to identify politically, loves and helps every Jew wherever he is without any conditions and political affiliation – so opposite is Yair Lapid.”
He added, “I am sure that Chabad will continue to love Lapid, welcome and happily host him even after this threat. Because such have been Chabadniks for more than 200 years.”
Knesset member Keti Shitrit of Likud demanded that Lapid apologize, among others.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has admiration for the Rebbe, did not directly respond to Lapid’s attributed comments. He recently stated that Ben-Gvir won’t be a member of his future government, although Netanyahu will need him as a member of the parlimentary coalition.
Netanyahu’s social media account did share a campaign video reminding Bennet and that while he didn’t like the “shameful threats of Lapid against Chabad House in the world,” he and New Hope party chairman Gideon Sa’ar are key partners of Lapid’s government.
VIDEO:
לבנט וגדעון אין ממשלה בלי יאיר לפיד כראש ממשלה. רק הליכוד יכול להקים ממשלת ימין על מלא! pic.twitter.com/rgxCmeejYh
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) February 21, 2021
In a tweet on Friday, Lapid did not deny the conversation but distanced himself from the tone of the words.
“I want to make it clear: I do not pursue and will not pursue anyone, certainly not my good friends from the Chabad movement,” he wrote, calling Chabad “a movement with many merits that only love for the people and love for the land is before their eyes.”
He did go on to say that he is “deeply concerned” that Ben-Gvir may be elected to the Knesset and that “I will continue to fight in every way so that no one gives a hand to racism, incitement, and further division among the people and does not support the Kahanists who threaten the integrity of the people of Israel.”
Full of threats if someone doesn’t vote the way they want.. lol.
Let the Israeli police apologize for harming the Hilltop Youth. And framing Amiran ben Oliel.
Lapid does not care about truth. Let’s do teshuva. I hope he does, too.
“Chassidim typically vote for parties adhering to shleimus ha’am, shleimus ha’aretz, and shleimus hatorah (the wholeness of the people of Israel, the Land of Israel and the Torah) and there’s more than one party that fits the bill”
this is not true to anyone who knows a little history there is only one and only party that will guard shleimus ha’am, shleimus ha’aretz, and shleimus hatorah!!!
BS”D
open the link for our Shleimus HaAretz presentation!
https://youtu.be/WCer80y2C9E
This Lapid, has no Ahavas Yisroel, he is just another scoundrel.
If you start with the Rebbe you are donne , this will be the fall of Lapid !!!
It sounds like a child’s purim/ peach tape – making sure no hamentashen on purim or chocolate donuts and only jelly donuts 🙂 – I let him join the movement if he wants to become chabad too if he is that jealous- he is a jew and one of us so he could still eat donuts and even become a famous shliach – we have enough approtunity 🙂 jealousy is a human emotion but its our choice what we want to do with it…