Additional retirement from the race: After realizing that he could not join any of the other parties in the center-left bloc, just three days before the closing lists of candidates for the 24th Knesset, the former defense minister and chief of staff, MK Moshe (Boogie) Ya’alon Announced today (Monday) that he will not run in the upcoming elections, and canceled the candidacy of the Telam Party.
“I believed that in my and TLM’s independent running, we could increase the power of the change camp,” Ya’alon wrote. “This working assumption turned out to be wrong. In the political circumstances that have arisen, the struggle for change requires me and TLM not to run in the upcoming elections. “
“I also came out of this election with the same sense of mission,” Ya’alon added, “with the understanding that the current battle is for the soul of the state and society in Israel. Almost 5,000 died of the corona virus. 5,000. Stop for a moment and think about that number.”
TLM list for the 24th Knesset (Photo: Itamar Shaul)- 2021 Elections: All the polls, articles and interpretations of leading reporters on the Maariv website
“On March 23, we will all go to the polls. I call on all of you to take part in the elections. You must keep your eyes open and make sure that you do not give your vote to those who abandon hope for change, to sit in the shadow of a criminal defendant.
“I thank my friends and comrades who went on this journey with me. Excellent people each in his field, who enlisted in the mission. You are inspiring, and I am grateful to you.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai commented on Ya’alon’s retirement: “Lt. Col. (Res.) Moshe Boogie Ya’alon is an important public leader, who has contributed much to the state and will contribute much more. I’m sorry for his retirement. “The emerging political map is a clear victory for the ideological right, and I hope that all the leaders in the center-left camp knew how to unite in the right way, in the few days left until the submission of the lists.”
As you may recall, three weeks ago, Ya’alon split from Yair Lapid’s party (Yesh Atid) and moved on to recruit candidates for his list, including Prof. Hagai Levin and others. The separation between the two, according to reports, was “in good spirits.”