Tani Frank
Avigdor Liberman
Yair Lapid
Yair Golan
At the “Outlines for a Jewish-Democratic Policy” conference, part of the Center for Judaism and State at the Shalom Hartman Institute, sharp messages against the government were heard today, alongside discussions on possible political positioning ahead of the next elections, the constitutional crisis, and religion-state relations.
“In recent years, we have been psychologically dealing with the question of how we as a nation cope with the shock of October 7. We have reached a point where the story of ‘Jewish and democratic’ is not something we fully understand among ourselves. From a state of general understanding of what the phrase ‘Jewish and democratic’ means, we have reached a situation where within Israeli society there are debates over what is ‘Jewish,’ what is ‘democratic,’ and what is ‘Jewish and democratic’ together. What kind of policy and approach can allow us to write a new chapter that this society deserves?”
“The time has come to change the equation: we are no longer satisfied with just lowering the walls of religious coercion, but rather seek to pour positive, contemporary Jewish-Israeli content into the shared symbols that have lost their power. We must stop asking only ‘what not’—what to dismantle and what to prevent—and start defining ‘what yes,’ while breaking the institutional monopoly of the Rabbinate and shifting the center of gravity to local and community management. The challenge facing decision-makers in the next government is shaping a free and relevant Jewish identity that grows from the ground up and is expressed through local policy.”
Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman sharply attacked the Haredi establishment, saying that “the Haredi establishment today is first and foremost anti-Jewish,” while accusing the Haredi leadership of focusing on “power, money, and honor” instead of the world of Torah.
Liberman claimed regarding the conscription issue that “we can no longer stall,” and called for a definitive resolution on the Draft Law. In addition, he declared that Yisrael Beytenu would demand a constitution for Israel as a condition for forming the next government, which he noted would also be put to a referendum. Liberman also addressed the war and October 7, stating that the Prime Minister bears the primary responsibility for the failure and called for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry as the very first decision of the next government.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid estimated that additional political mergers within the opposition bloc will occur in the near future. According to him, “people who disagree know how to act together for a cause greater than themselves,” noting that he sees opportunities for cooperation with figures like Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot based on a shared foundation of values.
Lapid linked Israel’s security strength to its democratic character, stating that Israel can remain “the strongest country in the Middle East” only if it maintains its status as “the only democracy in the Middle East.”
Chairman of The Democrats Yair Golan said that “the alternative today to the current coalition is a very broad government—from Liberman, through Bennett, and in my opinion, up to Mansour Abbas.” Golan attacked the connection between religion, politics, and money, stating that he was “horrified” by the transformation of religion into a “religion of revenge and violence.” Additionally, he said that “Judaism needs to be disconnected from politics and money,” and addressed women’s service in the IDF: “In my eyes, it is an intolerable thought that my granddaughter would not serve where she wants, according to her qualifications, just because someone says it is unpleasant for him to serve alongside her.”
