The chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, MK Ram Ben-Barak (Yesh Atid) was asked on Wednesday morning whether Yamina dissenter Idit Silman should be expelled from her party. "Thankfully, I am not in Yamina," he responded.
"The question of resignations and whether or not to vote with the coalition has not always been easy, but we have done things that many people said were impossible," he continued. "We formed a government and we have managed to hold it together until now. And I hope the government will survive this latest challenge as well."
Ben-Barak criticized members of the opposition for voting against the Judea and Samaria law: "I cannot recall any other opposition that would give up everything to topple a government. They don't care what happens, as long as our government falls."
Ben-Barak disagreed with MK Nir Orbach (Yamina), who started that, 'The experiment with Ra'am has failed," saying that on the contracy, "Involving Arab parties in coalitions is essential and perhaps the way to heal our society and the rift between Arabs and Jews. It's not easy, it's a long process, but it has to start somewhere. I look at UAL leader Mansour Abbas, his moderate stance, the statements he makes - this is the first time in history that an Arab party has accepted that Israel is a Jewish state. This is a true partnership," he asserted.
"I see an increase in the number of people who realize how much we have to invest in Arab society in order to bring it closer to the level of Jewish society in terms of infrastructure and education," he added. "For that alone it was worth forming this government. It is a difficult experiment, but in the end we will succeed."