Posted on 06/30/22
| News Source: Arutz-7
As Israel heads to elections again, MK Simon Davidson of the Yesh Atid party was interviewed by the haredi Mishpacha newspaper. Davidson related something of his own life as a secular business owner who always shut up shop on Shabbat, as a result of something Rabbi Elazar Abuchatzera once told him: "That was one of the most significant decisions I made in my entire life."
After endless speculations over the past month regarding his intention to stand as mayor of Netanya to replace Miriam Feierbeg, he still refuses to provide a direct answer to that question, but toward the end of the interview, he made a reference to his plans for the future, saying, "I'm going to be in the next Knesset, and I believe that I will be placed higher on the party's slate this time around."
Davidson was also asked if there was any truth to the rumors that the Sanz chassidic community in Netanya plans to support his candidacy as mayor, if he stands for the position. Again, Davidson did not reply, but he did relate that, "A week before Lag b'Omer this year, a respected member of the Sanz community called me to invite me to attend their Lag b'Omer bonfire," at which Davidson was honored with pouring oil for the fire. "I accepted the invitation and they gave me a wonderful welcome, which really touched me. Even though I am secular, I know deep down that it wouldn't be so hard to persuade me to become religious, because I really love religion, I love going to synagogue, and I love tradition."
Davidson also revealed that, "At the start of the year, I made the decision to keep Shabbat. This week, I spoke with a Knesset member from the Shas party who asked me how my Shabbat was and I said that this had been the first year during which I didn't work on Shabbat at all. I have a lot of business ventures aside from the country club, and this is the first year that I haven't done anything on Shabbat. I see this as something very special, as a father and head of a family."
Davidson was once a Likud supporter and is now a member of the Yesh Atid party. "My story began when Yair Lapid took his first steps in politics and he came to a workshop in Moshav Tzoren. By chance, I happened to be there and I was very impressed by what I heard. I had been a member of the Likud movement for years and I had always voted for them, but Lapid changed my way of thinking. I have been a member of Yesh Atid since the day it was founded. I headed the party headquarters in Netanya and was very active in party activities for years. In the elections for the 24th Knesset, Yair decided to place me in the 22nd slot on the list, and due to the Norwegian Law [which allows ministers to vacate their Knesset seats in favor of party members lower down on the list], I entered the Knesset."
On party boss Lapid, Davidson insists that he has undergone a transformation. "I think that Lapid as we see him today is the genuine version. Things have changed within the party and also for him personally. At the end of the day, we are one people and we should respect one another. We have to ensure that every single child, especially in the haredi community, receives his due. In my opinion, Lapid has changed his mind with regard to the haredim and sees them differently today."
So much so, he adds, that "if Lapid is the one to form the next coalition, haredi MKs will be an integral part of it, and that will be good for everyone. Israeli citizens want to see unity."
Asked how that unity could be attained with MKs like Finance Minister Liberman, who made a public statement saying that haredim should be "sent to the garbage dump in a wheelbarrow," he replies, "I don't belong to Liberman's party. What's more, I am not certain that Liberman needs to be part of the next government. As a member of Yesh Atid, Liberman's ideas do not represent me. No party and no person should be invalidated."