Op Ed: Do not let them win

If you doubt rumors against PM come from desire for good government, leaks show someone's working hard to eliminate Prime Minister. Opinion

HaRav Shmuel Eliyahu,

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu
Flash 90

The Book of Kings begins with the story of the elderly King David being told that there is a movement afoot to crown Adoniyah ben Hagit his successor instead of Solomon. When David understands what is being done behind his back, he swears to stop the coup and crowns Solomon king that very day even though the time for the coronation has not yet arrived. The king understood that he must not to let the fire of rebellion continue to burn and that he must act quickly, before it became too late.

I write this in the context of an investigation against the Prime Minister and the calls that he resign. Anyone who reads the stories of the two Justice Ministers, Daniel Friedman and Yaakov Ne'eman, (who announced that they intended to change the Justice Department and were also subjected to investigations that prevented their doing so, ed.) learns that this method is the one used by those who have failed at the ballot box. They use the legal system to eliminate political opponents under the guise of fairness and justice, so that the public does not object.

If anyone thinks that the rumors and investigations against the Prime Minister come from a desire for clean, honest government, along come the daily leaks against the Prime Minister that absolutely do not stand the test of morality and justice - and they reveal to us that someone here is working hard to eliminate the Prime Minister.

These leaks did not make the headlines by accident. Someone took care to leak and publish them in order to mislead you, the public. To break the Prime Minister's spirit and mislead the Attorney General. They want you to delude yourself into believing that it's not so terrible to discard an elected Prime Minister because we can bring someone with 'cleaner hands'.

Do not let them win. They want to undo the will of the voters and crown someone who does their will. Even if the Prime Minister is replaced by a right-winger, he is likely to fall in line with their agenda as did Ariel Sharon. Every future Prime Minister will then fear their power and reach. Do not believe a word that comes out of their mouths. They want to carry out an illegal coup and they need you to believe in these rumors.

We must stop them. This is also a danger to democracy and to Israel. The people voted for Netanyahu and one does not topple a prime minister for cigars and meetings with journalists. Shimon Peres was not ousted over this, and neither should Netanyahu be.

The author is the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat.