Israeli Politician Defends Hugging Rival, Calls for End to Hate
Translated & summarized from i24NEWS Arabic by baba
Ofer Winter, head of the 'Am Israel Hai' party, defended embracing rival Gadi Eisenkot on i24NEWS, calling for an end to political hate. Winter stated Eisenkot is not his enemy despite deep ideological differences and criticism of his policies. He also clarified he does not plan to join a government led by Eisenkot, reaffirming his commitment to the national camp.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Ofer Winter defended hugging rival Gadi Eisenkot on i24NEWS, calling for an end to political hate.
- Winter stated that despite deep ideological disagreements, Eisenkot is not his enemy.
- He emphasized that leaders must set a positive example and that not all matters are politics.
- Winter clarified he does not intend to join a government led by Eisenkot.
- He reaffirmed his commitment to the national camp despite attacks.
- The incident occurred during a television interview on i24NEWS.
Ofer Winter, head of the 'Am Israel Hai' party, defended his embrace of Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the 'Yashar!' party, during a television interview, stating that he would embrace any "brother" even if they disagreed politically. Winter's comments came after public backlash following the incident on the i24NEWS program "Weekend." He explained that he had previously hugged Eisenkot when the latter's son was killed and that he would continue to do so for any "brother," regardless of political differences or potential electoral cost.
Winter acknowledged the "deep ideological disagreement" and "severe criticism" he holds against Eisenkot regarding his "containment policy." However, he stressed that Eisenkot is "not my enemy" and called for an end to "hate" and "boycotts," emphasizing that "not all matters are politics" and that leaders must set a positive example for a people in need of healing.
In a separate interview, Winter clarified that he does not intend to join a government led by Eisenkot. Responding to a question about potentially causing the "right-wing camp" to fall, Winter firmly stated, "God forbid," reaffirming his long-standing commitment to the "national camp." He asserted that the attacks against him would not alter his positions.
