Infrastructures Minister Effie Eitam of the National Religious Party was jeered yesterday by some of those at the Gilad Farm's near-uprooting yesterday. They told him that the NRP should resign from a government that dismantles Yesha outposts. "We have already toppled one government," he responded. "Yitzchak Shamir wasn't righteous enough for you, and you received Yitzchak Rabin and Oslo instead. This government is an asset that you will one day appreciate."
The NRP's other government minister, Rabbi Yitzchak Levy of the Tourism Ministry, told Arutz-7 today, "I wouldn't quite call this government an 'asset,' but it's certainly necessary at this time. We cannot afford, at this time, to topple the government because of the dismantling of outposts, as bad as that is. We have to see the general trends and the entire picture - settlement, security, economy, etc.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal pressed: "But that's not the government's only bad thing of the last few days. There was also Sharon's consent to renew transferring monies to the PA, the "Judea First" plan that is now under consideration, the dismantling of further outposts, and Sharon's consent to a Palestinian state, which was further ratified yesterday in the White House."
Rabbi Levy:
"That last issue is from the beginning of this government [when we were not members]… But let's discuss this government's pluses: The security activities all over Yesha that have, thank G-d, brought about a great reduction in the number of Jews killed, as well as the coordination with the U.S. over the war in Iraq. This is a very important thing. This coordination and integration into the global war against terrorism, however, has a price, which is not pleasant. The price of American cooperation comes, for instance, in the matter of transferring monies to the PA, which we are not happy about - but the government is trying to get the proper supervisory mechanisms to ensure that the money is being spent in the right places and not for terrorism. It's not good, and we're against it, but when I look at the larger picture, I see that we must remain in the government…
"It's clear that on the eve of a regional war, this is not a time to quit governments, as we don't know how things will develop… In addition, we have been working very strongly behind the scenes on many issues; what do you think, that when Ben-Eliezer is now talking about dismantling many less outposts than he originally said, that this happens by itself? We work very hard, and on many things we succeed, and in others we don't. But if we leave the government, then [all the problems will be solved]? In the end, Ben-Eliezer himself knows that the Yesha enterprise is getting stronger and stronger - but it doesn't happen by itself… We hope that after the Labor Party primaries, Ben-Eliezer will calm down regarding the outposts…"
The NRP's other government minister, Rabbi Yitzchak Levy of the Tourism Ministry, told Arutz-7 today, "I wouldn't quite call this government an 'asset,' but it's certainly necessary at this time. We cannot afford, at this time, to topple the government because of the dismantling of outposts, as bad as that is. We have to see the general trends and the entire picture - settlement, security, economy, etc.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal pressed: "But that's not the government's only bad thing of the last few days. There was also Sharon's consent to renew transferring monies to the PA, the "Judea First" plan that is now under consideration, the dismantling of further outposts, and Sharon's consent to a Palestinian state, which was further ratified yesterday in the White House."
Rabbi Levy:
"That last issue is from the beginning of this government [when we were not members]… But let's discuss this government's pluses: The security activities all over Yesha that have, thank G-d, brought about a great reduction in the number of Jews killed, as well as the coordination with the U.S. over the war in Iraq. This is a very important thing. This coordination and integration into the global war against terrorism, however, has a price, which is not pleasant. The price of American cooperation comes, for instance, in the matter of transferring monies to the PA, which we are not happy about - but the government is trying to get the proper supervisory mechanisms to ensure that the money is being spent in the right places and not for terrorism. It's not good, and we're against it, but when I look at the larger picture, I see that we must remain in the government…
"It's clear that on the eve of a regional war, this is not a time to quit governments, as we don't know how things will develop… In addition, we have been working very strongly behind the scenes on many issues; what do you think, that when Ben-Eliezer is now talking about dismantling many less outposts than he originally said, that this happens by itself? We work very hard, and on many things we succeed, and in others we don't. But if we leave the government, then [all the problems will be solved]? In the end, Ben-Eliezer himself knows that the Yesha enterprise is getting stronger and stronger - but it doesn't happen by itself… We hope that after the Labor Party primaries, Ben-Eliezer will calm down regarding the outposts…"