News and Updates

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, who in February, 2008 spoke to Likud Anglos in Haifa, recently responded to negative comments about Likud made by U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. Obama's had said that "there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel, then you're anti-Israel, and that can't be the measure of our friendship with Israel."

Edelstein responded that "I am glad that there is the general perception that to be pro-Israel is pro Likud. I am glad that the general feeling in the American Jewish community is that the Likud expresses the real patriotic Zionist position."

But support for the state was broader then that, Edelstein said. "In the complex situation of the Middle East, to be pro-Israel is not just to say that you are in favor of a secure and flourishing state of Israel. It is to take a stand on our battle with terrorism and terrorists and to realize that in this battle there are good guys and bad guys, and it is not shameful to be on the same side as the good guys."

The Likud Anglos meeting in Haifa opened with a presentation to MK Edelstein on behalf of the Haifa committee for Soviet Jewry in recognition of his role as a refusenik. He said the Government must work tirelessly to gain the release of Gilad Shalit and all our captured soldiers. Edelstein stressed the need for significant reform in many areas, saying more could be done to improve education beyond raising teacher's salaries. He also emphasized Likud's constant efforts to bring down the Government.