Minister of Transportation and Labor Chairman Merav Michaeli said in an interview with Israel Hayom that Prime Minister Lapid's attempt to pressure her to unite with Meretz in the upcoming elections only serves Lapid's goals, and is harmful to the bloc.
"It is not open to discussion," she emphatically clarifies in an interview with Israel Hayom.
Despite the situation in polls that predict 5-6 mandates for her, Michaeli remains optimistic, saying: "We have a high potential of voters, we just started the campaign."
"We joined a government that was not easy for us," admits Michaeli.
"We made a lot of concessions, there are things we couldn't do. People expected us when we came to government to promote all our values, but we couldn't do everything like civil marriage, economic policy and public transportation on Shabbat."
Michaeli points to the struggle of Lapid and Gantz against the Labor Party: "There are many forces working against us, including other parties in the bloc. Lapid's campaign to unify Meretz and Labor distracts from talking about the advantages of the Labor Party, Gantz also works against us in all kinds of ways. And it's legitimate, it's politics, but we'll start the campaign now, present our values and speak to the public at eye level as we know how. We'll increase the power of the party."
Only he wants a union.
Prime Minister Lapid, photo: Amos Ben Gershom/L.A.M
Do you promise that there will be no connection between work and Meretz?
"There will be no union of Labor and Meretz. There was such an attempt and it failed. In 2020 they ran together and brought 7 mandates, in 2021 they ran separately and brought 13 mandates. A union between Labor and Meretz is not good for the bloc, it is good for Lapid, he thinks about His personal benefit. The unification of Labor and Meretz may bring Netanyahu back. I am interested in the State of Israel, and this is not open to discussion. Meretz will pass, Labor will increase its power and this will strengthen the bloc."
"The left is a victim of violence"
What do you think the elections are about? How do you read the political system now?
"Israel is still at the end of the Netanyahu era and this affects the entire system. Everything is messed up, everything is distorted and it's harder to talk about things that are important to the public. Heads of authorities from the Likud are the first to tell you that this government has worked a thousand times over. The delegitimization of entire parts of Israeli politics are still strong. People They can tell me that they love me and appreciate my work, and then they'll say, 'But I'm on the other side.'"
But you are also delegitimizing Netanyahu, who prevents the end of the political floundering.
"There is no symmetry here, there is one side that is a victim of violence, which is the left. I grew up in a country where the words 'left' and 'right' did not exist, not that they really did not exist, people did not define themselves in those terms. There was the Likud and the Alignment. Netanyahu brought all these concepts and said 'Netanyahu and the right is good for the Jews, and the left is not good for the Jews'. These are words that were not used in the political system. It is true that in recent years the left has been talking about Bibi-Ben Gabir in terms of danger."
Chairman of the opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Are you in favor of a unity government with the Likud and the ultra-Orthodox without Netanyahu, like Gantz who claims that there will be changes if Netanyahu does not achieve 61?
"If Netanyahu retires from political life, the whole game will be reorganized. I think a government should be formed without Netanyahu, but now unfortunately Netanyahu and the Likud are one. We need to get enough mandates for our bloc."
"I did not sit with Netanyahu"
Is a joint government legitimate in your eyes?
"I don't see the joint party joining the government. I'm saying something clear: there are basic lines, a party that is committed to the Zionist vision, to the State of Israel as a home for the Jewish people with full equality of rights - as far as I'm concerned, it is invited to the government. Will the joint party be there? Probably not."
And a minority government that relies on the common from the outside?
"The Labor Party will do its utmost to form a government that will prevent the Bibi-Ben Gabir government."
I don't think they will enter the government.
Members of the joint venture, photo: Knesset spokeswoman - Noam Moshkovich
Why would people actually vote for you and not for Gantz or Lish Atid?
"We are a much better party. With us you get everything, including the strategic vote to replace Netanyahu. Unlike Lapid, Gantz and Lieberman, I have never sat down with Netanyahu. I am bothered by the fact that Gantz does not clearly deny sitting down with Netanyahu.
"At the same time, you get the other thing, which is clear values in all the issues of life itself. We are the only party that has an economic policy that talks about free social services, the only one that says equal rights outright, about civil marriage. In the future, we talk about a partnership, not marriage citizens, and I say outright freedom of religion. We are the only ones who say a political settlement with the Palestinians. If we don't deal with the conflict, we will quietly slip into a bi-national state. I don't agree that peace should be reached, but not two states for two peoples in order to keep Israel as the home of the Jewish people .
What about a security figure? Will you appoint Bar Lev as a professional minister from the outside?
"Everything is open, Amr Bar Lev is an asset to the Labor Party, he is a very good Minister of Internal Security who dealt less with public relations and works hard."
You have an option for armors in the list. You hear names like Nissenkorn, Amos Yadlin and even Ehud Barak.
"At the moment I haven't offered anything to anyone, people have an interest in spreading all kinds of names, it didn't come from me, I didn't talk about it with anyone. I met with Ehud Barak yesterday, but not for armor purposes. I'm still thinking about what is best for the Labor Party."
Not Armored, Ehud Barak // Photo: Gideon Markovich,
"carry out the will of the majority"
In the last few days, during an election campaign and a transitional government, the Minister of Transportation Michaeli announced that she had ordered the Chairman of the NTA to promote light rail activity in Gush Dan on Shabbat.
The right-wing parties in the Netanyahu bloc attacked the move, claiming that Michali had no public mandate to do such an act of changing the status quo during a transitional government and that it was done for campaign purposes.
You don't rule out any sector.
Michaeli at the wedding of Moshe Gafni's granddaughter, photo: None
Michaeli herself claims that "those who say it's a spin ignore and ignore the fact that I was asked about it during the year and I always said that we were working on it to do it by agreement. I had a long-term plan, the headquarters work was done from my first day in the office - and then the coalition exploded. The fact that we don't have Public transportation on Shabbat is a fatal blow to the public, a blow to the economy. Right now, this transition government has a historic window of opportunity, and the time has come to realize the will of the majority. There is a majority in the public and a majority in the government during this period. Sa'ar also supports this, Shaked's number three also supports it, religious people also support it on public transportation on Shabbat. It should not go through neighborhoods where people do not want transportation at all on Shabbat, but this will not be able to deny the State of Israel this basic freedom of movement."
But now it is a transitional government, you are in the elections, you have to wait for the government elected by the people.
"In law, there is this concept of 'act or omission'. Not doing it is not neutral either. The question is whether I have a public mandate to miss this historic window and the answer is no. Because what this government does, even a government with the ultra-Orthodox will not undo it."
If it were the other way around - a right-wing ultra-Orthodox government that decides to change the status quo and get stricter on the religious issue, would you accept it?
"It is impossible to compare and parallel between giving rights to people and taking rights away from people. It is not the same thing. Here you force something on someone, and here you allow someone something - it is not the same thing. No one has the right to impose and violate rights and there is an obligation to allow rights to people" .
"Netanyahu failed on the issue of Iran"
What do you think about the nuclear deal?
"It depends on what its content is. The question is not the agreement, the question is the security of the State of Israel and what is Israel's interest in being protected forever and ever. A nuke for Iran is dangerous and bad for the country, and Iran also endangers world peace. One of Netanyahu's acute failures was that he turned it into a problem Only Israel's, instead of mobilizing the whole world to work against the nuclear because it puts everyone at risk."
A nuclear facility in Iran, photo: Reuters
But what should be done now with the emerging agreement?
"We need to find a way to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. The previous agreement in 2015 was not a good enough agreement, but it significantly distanced Iran from nuclear. Netanyahu failed on the Iran issue. Once because he broke with the US and therefore this agreement did not take into account interests the Israelis to a sufficient extent, in addition he caused Trump to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement without an alternative, without a safety net for Israel, which freed Iran to move forward with the nuclear in a way that made it much more dangerous."
But if you see that the Americans do not consider Israel's interest, what will you do?
"There is no way, we haven't reached the last line yet. The strategic alliance with the Americans is the most significant asset that Israel has, and jeopardizing it is a stupid thing to do. Because then even if you want to attack Iran, you have no one to stand behind you, it's not smart."
Who will the Labor Party recommend to be prime minister, Lapid or Gantz?
"Whoever can form a better government to replace Netanyahu. I don't know what the election result will be yet. I'm not forming a government yet."
Do you want to be a treasurer?
"Yes, from Smotrich to Lieberman, everyone holds a hyper-capitalist economic view that advocates that the state should do the minimum and the people should get by. I see things the other way around. I think the state should take responsibility and take care of the most basic services that everyone will have and invest much more money in education, health, In transportation, in housing, and that means investing much more money in the public. Raising wages. Giving free education from the age of zero. There is money, Israel is very rich, we have a surplus of 40 billion NIS.
A country that increases its deficit and invests in education, that the education is better and there are more educated people, this will increase the country's GDP within 10 years."
Avigdor Lieberman, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Do you want a government with the ultra-Orthodox? Will you agree to compromise your values regarding religion and state for this?
"It has always been known that I have respectful relations with the ultra-Orthodox politicians and the ultra-Orthodox public. I do not rule out sectors. It is okay to compromise, the question is how much and the question is whether they will also be willing to compromise."
What do you think about the conduct of the negotiations between the Treasury and the teachers?
"We believe that teachers should be paid more, it should be noted that this is a public where the majority are women and they are screwed twice: both low wages and employing the children as mothers, if God forbid there is a strike. Teachers should be paid more, professional training should be invested in them. I believe that the expense on the public It should be higher, there is no problem reaching an agreement and avoiding a strike."
What do you think about the photo battle between Lapid and Netanyahu?
"The boys deal with pictures and fights about ego and we work."
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