News
New social movement formed in Israel to encourage inter-communal dialogue
A new social movement that seeks to encourage dialogue among the diverse communities inside Israel has been launched.
The new movement known as ‘Pnima’, translated as ‘Inwards,’ was launched yesterday by former Education Minister Shai Piron, formerly the number two in Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, as well as by two former IDF Chiefs of Staff, Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi, both of whom have been subject to speculation about whether or not they will enter politics.
Speaking at the press conference for the launch, Piron said: “We aren’t here just to complain and say what’s wrong. Our dreams are about fixing what is flawed, creating a conversation aimed at addressing the main problem — the common denominator in 2017 is hatred of others. There are people, mainly politicians, who profit from the hatred of one sector for another.”
Ashkenazi called for “an end to the divisions, an end to the incitement, an end to the baseless hatred,” referring to the Jewish concept that led to Jewish people’s expulsion from the land of Israel from two millennia, while Gantz told reporters that “the divisions in Israeli society must be dealt with, it must be said honestly… the political leadership in the State of Israel has not succeeded in meeting this challenge”.
Also prominent at the launch was Shlomo Dovrat, a high tech entrepreneur, who a decade ago headed a government appointed commission (the Dovrat Commision) that made recommendations to improve Israel’s education system by giving more power to school principals and rewarding higher quality teachers.
In other news, during a Likud gathering in Acre last night another former Education minister Gidon Saar formally announced his return to politics. In 2014, after 20 years in public service, which included serving in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinets as interior and then education minister, Saar quit politics to spend time with his young family.
Last night Saar praised the resilience of Prime Minister Netanyahu for “guarding our interests” and warned: “We recognise the danger of returning to the same formula of going back to the 1967 borders with changes or otherwise. This was something that we believed and [still] believe, endangers the future of Israel, and the security of Israel.”