Fascinating Video: Yesh Atid's Yair Lapid OnThe Haredim

This is probably mostly of interest to the Tribe, but is extremely valuable for anyone else who wants to understand Israel.

The big surprise in the Israeli elections was the success of TV Newscaster Yair Lapid's new party, Yesh Atid ('There is a Future'), which won 19 mandates and is almost certain to be part of PM Benyamin Netanyahu's new governing coalition.

Lapid already did one thing that impressed me when Israel's parties on the Left wanted him to agree to  block Netanyahu even if he wasn't going to join them to form a government.He refused outright, and publicly, saying that those tactics wouldn't be good for Israel. OK, a bit self-serving since he was probably planning to go into the government anyway, but the fact that he said it publicly meant something, as did the fact that he did it quickly and didn't milk it for a few days.

Yesh Atid is primarily a  secular, centrist party whose big issues were economic relief for Israel's middle class, along with universal conscription and a curtailment of draft exemptions for the Haredim.

The above 2012 lecture by Lapid was given at the Haredi branch of the college at Kiryat Ono, one of several institutions created to allow the Haredi to pursue academic degrees while observing their religious requirements.I agree with a large part of what he had to say here, but more importantly, it gives a real insight into what Lapid's views are and how he thinks.

This is looking more and more like a good match for  Netanyahu and and the makings of a strong and positive Center Right coalition, especially if Netanyahu  brings Naftali Bennett and Bayit Yehudi into it, and perhaps even United Torah Judaism and their 7 mandates, provided the inevitable horsetrading aspect works out.

(h/t and todah, Carl)