By Joshua B. Dermer/TPS
Jerusalem (TPS) – As the Yisrael Beiteinu party enters the government with chairman MK Avigdor Liberman’s appointment as defense minister, MK Orli Levi-Abekasis announced that she was quitting the party on Thursday, explaining that it had “abandoned” her social agenda.
“The issues for which I chose to take part in public service and activism have been completely abandoned and once again were left at the wayside despite my positions,” Levi-Abekasis said in a Facebook post. “Therefore, I decided not to take part in the present political maneuver and due to the current situation I announce the end of my role in Yisrael Beiteinu.”
“It’s important that I clarify that I never requested a position for myself,” Levi-Abekasis added, “though I certainly demanded that the important issues be placed at the forefront– that the weak sectors receive a proper place in the political process. This did not happen and I can no longer remain indifferent about it.”
Levi-Abekasis is one of only six Yisrael Beiteinu lawmakers and currently serves as deputy speaker of the Knesset. In the 2015 election she was placed in the second position of the party list.
MK Itzik Shmuli of the Labor party cheekily responded to Levi with an invitation to “join your natural home – the Labor Party.” The call was echoed by Labor party chairman Isaac Herzog in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 news on Thursday evening.
“We were surprised to hear about MK Orly Levi’s decision,” Yisrael Beiteinu said in a statement released following Levi’s resignation announcement. “Yisrael Beiteinu is expected to achieve very significant social reforms in the ongoing negotiations and it is unfortunate that MK Levi will not be a part of them.”