Abandonment continues: The Minister of Science and Technology, Yizhar Shai, announced tonight (Thursday) to the blue and white chairman, Defense Minister Bnei Gantz, that he will not run in the upcoming Knesset elections within the party.
Shai thanked Ganz for the trust he had placed in him, and wished him much success in his future endeavors. He stressed that he would have at his disposal the corona cabinet and blue and white ministers in the cabinet, as well as the Israeli government, as needed.
“I thank Bnei Gantz for offering me to join him on the public campaign, for the opportunity to be a minister in the Israeli government and represent the Israeli innovation and high-tech industry and for the right to be part of a blue and white family,” Shai said. “Despite the differences between us, I appreciate my son, respect him very much and wish the people of Israel that people like him will lead us – with modesty, integrity, personal example and independent sacrifice, for the good of the state.”
On behalf of Blue and White, it was reported that “Defense Minister Bnei Gantz spoke with Minister Yizhar Shai, and at the end of a personal conversation, they agreed that he would not be included in the blue and white list in the upcoming elections.
Earlier today, Education Committee Chairman Ram Shefa announced his resignation from White Brush. “I have just finished a conversation with Bnei Gantz,” he wrote on Twitter. I’m very whole, but honestly, it hurts me. I love my son and the other friends very much. “
Shefa added that “the journey of the entire camp, which strives to create a liberal democratic society, is more necessary today than ever, I will continue to take part in this journey.”
Shefa and Shai’s departure comes a day after Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi informed Gantz that he would not run in the blue and white framework in the upcoming Knesset elections and that he was “taking a time-out” and considering continuing on his path. On Tuesday, Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn announced his resignation from the party and his joining the Israelis’ party, the new party of Tel Aviv-Yafo Mayor Ron Huldai. Nissenkorn, who is expected to be Huldai’s No. 2, yesterday submitted his resignation letter to Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Other Knesset members who left Blue and White are Assaf Zamir, Miki Haimovich and Einav Kabala. As mentioned, Zamir, Haimovich and Shefa voted last week against the bill formulated by the Likud and Blue and White to postpone the date of approval of the budget, thus leading to the dissolution of the Knesset. It is estimated that some blue and white retirees are expected to join Huldai’s party.
Despite the difficult blue-and-white crisis and the polls predicting its electoral crash, Gantz made it clear on Tuesday that he will continue to head the party and face it in the upcoming Knesset elections: “These are not easy days, but sometimes you have to prune the tops. “That does not suit him – the door is open. Here a strong and cohesive group will remain and be built, for which chairs and armor are not guaranteed, only hard work for the state.”