Old Video of Israeli Candidate Supporting Palestinian State Resurfaces
Translated & summarized from Israel Hayom by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- A 2020 video of Yosef Haddad supporting a Palestinian state has resurfaced.
- The video's timing suggests a political strategy to harm the 'Am Israel' party.
- Ofer Winter, the party leader, is seen as a political threat to other right-wing factions.
- Haddad claims his views have evolved since the video was made.
- The 'Am Israel' party recently failed to pass the electoral threshold in a poll.
A five-year-old video of Yosef Haddad, the second candidate on the "Am Israel" party list, expressing support for a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution has resurfaced online. The interview, originally from 2020 with Al-Arabiya, was initially published by journalist Mohammad Majadla and quickly spread across Telegram channels and X accounts associated with Likud supporters. Majadla later released additional footage, which he claimed was from after Haddad's stance had changed. Bezalel Smotrich also joined in criticizing Haddad.
Haddad stated that he changed his views during the "Guardian of the Walls" operation and believes the video's resurfacing now is not coincidental. He claims the "final solution, God willing, is a Palestinian state." Ofer Winter, the leader of "Am Israel," defended Haddad, asserting that anyone who hasn't changed their views since October 7th is "ignorant and foolish." The "Am Israel" party has also, for the first time since announcing their Knesset run, failed to pass the electoral threshold in a recent "Kahn News" poll.
The article speculates that the timing of the video's release is strategic, aiming to damage Winter's political standing. Winter is presented as unique in the right-wing political landscape because he is not perceived as bearing political responsibility for the failures leading up to or during the October 7th attacks, unlike other parties in the bloc. His party also includes bereaved families. The resurfaced video is seen as an attempt to tarnish Haddad's "clean slate" image and potentially siphon votes from other right-wing parties, or cause votes to fall below the electoral threshold.
While the video is genuine and its source is a journalist, the article emphasizes that the key question is who amplified and distributed it for political gain so close to an election. Winter's decision to stand by Haddad is framed as a gamble: it could strengthen him if his base accepts Haddad's "repentance," or it could weaken him if the video's disseminators achieve their goal of eroding Winter's unique political asset.
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