Ministers and senior members of Knesset were guests
of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and
Strategy, and talked to the students
The Minister of Welfare and Social Services, Isaac (Bougie) Herzog, the chairman
of Yisrael Beitenu, MK Avigdor Lieberman, and the chairman of Meretz, MK Haim
Oron, lectured to students in Professor David Nachmias’ course "Government and
Politics"
By Avantgarde Magazine
Students taking part in the course on
"Government and Politics" given by Prof
David Nachmias, head of the
government and politics department and
head of the New Government for Israel
project at the Lauder School of
Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at
IDC Herzliya, recently had the privilege
of hearing at first hand about the
activities of the government, the Knesset
and local government. Participating in
the last three lessons were Isaac
(Bougie) Herzog, Minister of Welfare
and Social services, MK Avigdor
Lieberman, chairman of the Israel
Beytenu party, and MK Haim Oron,
chairman of the new Meretz party.
There have also been a considerable
number of visits by senior members of
governments and top Israeli and
international researchers to the Lauder
School of Government, headed by its
dean, Prof Alex Mintz, which have
given students a rare opportunity to
discuss the burning issues of the day
and practical aspects of their studies
with the decision-makers, alongside the
theoretical studies.
MK Avigdor Lieberman
Prof Alex Mintz and Isaac (Bougie) Herzog, Minister
of Welfare and Social services
In a lecture given by the chairman of
Israel Beytenu, MK Avigdor Lieberman,
he called on the country's citizens to
give their support to the IDF forces
fighting in Gaza, and to hang out Israeli
flags throughout the streets of the
country. "Now is the time to give our
backing to the IDF forces fighting in
Gaza. Instead of seeing Hamas flags
being waved at demonstrations across
the country, it is important today to fly
the Israeli flag and to remain strong in
the face of enemies from within and
without", added MK Lieberman.
MK Lieberman also related to the issue
of the loyalty of Israel's Arab citizens to
the state, and said: "There is no reason
why we should not demand absolute
loyalty from Israeli Arabs. They are not a
persecuted
minority.
The
real
persecuted minority in Israel are those
who serve in the IDF and in the military
reserves, and pay their taxes." In
response to a question about the issue
of the national anthem and whether
Arab citizens of Israel should sing
Hatikva, MK Lieberman's answer was:
"Unequivocally - yes."
MK Haim Oron, chairman of Meretz,
related in his lecture to his party's
position with regard to the current
situation in Gaza, and said that "as soon
as Hamas took a conscious decision not
to renew the truce, and explained to us,
by means of dozens of Kassam rockets
a day, that it had no intention of
renewing it, despite the efforts of Israel,
the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptians
and the Turks, we felt that it was the
country's obligation to defend its citizens
- including with the use of force.
However, we are not talking about
unlimited use of force."
With regard to the objectives of the
campaign in Gaza, Oron said: "The
Gaza operation should have the
following objectives: to restore peace to
the settlements along the Gaza border
and in the south for as long as possible,
and to reach a new and more accurate
arrangement with regard to what are
called the ‘crossing points’. There are a
number of types of crossing points,
including crossings between Israel and
the Gaza Strip and between the Gaza
Strip and Egypt, and there are tunnels
that have to be dealt with in the
arrangement. Any other objective with
regard to eliminating Hamas or changing
the situation in the Middle East will not
succeed, and will only cause us
complications."
MK Haim Oron
Oron explained that the military stage
has been exhausted and now it is
necessary to act at the political level in
order to reach a truce in Gaza: "After the
third and fourth days of the Gaza
operation, even before the ground
forces went in, we said that it made no
sense and that it was necessary to
complete this stage and go on to the
political stage. The agreement about the
Philadelphi corridor is between us and
Egypt, or with additional countries, and
in any event not with Hamas. Hamas is
not a party to any agreement over the
Philadelphi corridor because it does not
control it. We must distinguish between
a truce agreement and an agreement
over the Philadelphi corridor."
"The Foreign Minister is interested in a
truce agreement without Hamas, but
there is no such thing. The previous
truce agreement was also made with
Hamas. It is a mistake to think that more
blows will solve the matter. Is it possible
to achieve a balance of terror with
regard to Hamas? I hope so. We cannot
reach a political agreement with Hamas
because it doesn't recognize the state of
Israel, but we can reach a ceasefire
agreement with it. Since there is no
reciprocal recognition between Israel
and Hamas, it is not a partner for peace
negotiations.”