When Baruch Marzel arrived with others from the Yachad/Otzma Yehudit list to submit the final lineup on Thursday night 9 Shevat, he refused to shake the hand of the head of the Central Election Committee, retired Justice Salim Jubran.
Marzel explained to the media that his reason is simple, reminding Israelis that as a Supreme Court justice and during his career, Jubran used every opportunity to come out against Israel and the IDF. Jubran created a media storm back in 2012, when he, a high-level official, refused to sing the Hatikvah national anthem.
For Marzel, it was not about a simple handshake but standing firm on principle against such an individual, despite his official position. Marzel exclaimed that he is not in the habit of shaking hands with people that are against us, the People and State of Israel.
After Yachad party leader signed a deal with Otzma Yehudit, Marzel is on the fourth slot and if the party passes the minimum threshold, will serve as an MK in the 20th Knesset.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
Marzel’s role is to appeal to people on the extremes who might otherwise not vote. He accompishes this by being rude to an Arab who has targetted himself for assasination by the Islamists for supporting Israel against the Palestinian nationists. If Marzel manages to appeal to the bigots and racists without alienating everyone else, it will work. The theory that makes Yachad seem viable is to get all the religious who are alienated from the existing religious parties and bring them together (those who think Yahadut ha-Torah and Shas are too frum and too anti-zionist, plus those who think Bayit Yehudi is not frum enough and is too much part of the mainstream zionist movement). If Yachad passes the threshold (and assuming all other right and religious parties do, the secular Yisrael Beiteinu may be in trouble), it will be mathematically impossible for anyone other than Likud to form a government even if Labor has the support of all Left, Centrist, Arabs and the two established hareidi parties.
To Akuperma: Marzel was not being rude, he acts out of his values. He was being truthful.
I can’t believe that someone refusing to sing Hatikva was allowed to act in the supreme court. This is beyond ridiculous. We badly need a party like Otzma in the Knesset.
Yishai toke in a nut case to his party don’t see why any normal person should vote for this party.