News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) National Religious Party Chairman MK Zevulun Orlev responded to comments made by former Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg saying that Burg “has lost his mind” and that “the apple has fallen far from the tree,” a reference to the fact that Burg’s father, Yosef, was a founder and longtime leader of the NRP in the state’s early days.

In the interview, Burg called Zionism “soulless,” said that defining Israel as a Jewish state is “explosive” and “dynamite,” and advocated that Israelis obtain foreign passports. Since leaving Israeli politics three years ago, Burg has become a citizen of France, where he recently voted against right-wing and pro-Israel candidate Nicolas Sarkozy. His new book, called “Defeating Hitler,” is a personal reflection on Israel and the Western Diaspora, Zionism and Judaism, and the age of globalization.