Eli, you are going through difficult times.
The hesitation leading up to the fateful decision tears you apart from within, opinions here and there, activists who encourage you to embark on a new path alongside activists who constantly slander you, rabbis who support alongside rabbis who oppose.
And the family...
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The family that stood by you throughout all your years of public activity with dedication, the wife and children who sacrificed their father for the public mission who now stand aside and fear. Fearful of your next step.
They are afraid of their next step.
I don't envy you!
On the one hand, there is the feeling of resentment and frustration, the 'black box' with the personal injury that causes you to rev up your engines and embark on a journey of revenge that will show everyone what your strength is, and on the other hand, public responsibility, the fear of controversy and the fear of tearing the Spanish public in two.
I wouldn't want to trade places with you. But I want to give you one piece of advice.
You have dedicated most of your life to public service, serving in a variety of public positions, from junior assistant to deputy prime minister. During your years in the Knesset, you were honored to be a public emissary of the great men of Israel and a helper to an entire sector. The last year was not easy, Maran Maor Yisrael was taken to his earthly home and replaced the leadership just before, it is not easy to digest, it is not easy to live with it.
Retire at your peak
The coming days are crucial for the continuation of your public and political path. On the one hand, you can establish a party that will stir up controversy, divide the Sephardic sector and cause a drastic decline in Haredi power in the Knesset, and on the other hand, you can emerge victorious and retire on a high.
Choosing the first option will result in a personal smear campaign by rabbis and activists in the field, will divide the Sephardic public, and will severely damage Maran's life's work. Choosing the second option, on the other hand, will immortalize you as a true leader, who overcame emotions and personal harm out of impressive public responsibility.
If you choose the second option, the Spanish public will appreciate and cherish you above all else. We will remember your achievements and your public mission, and we will remember your loyalty to the Maran and his legacy.
On the other hand, if you choose the first option, you may make some of those around you smile with satisfaction and rub their hands with pleasure, but the entire public will not forgive you or pardon you for the results of the dispute, which will cast a great shadow over your decades of public activity.
The Haredi public is tired of wars, we paid dearly for the controversy in the previous elections, we will not forget nor forgive a person who would lead us into opposition again because of whims of honor for personal reasons.
The decision is yours: go to war that will bring disaster to the entire Haredi sector, or retire with honor and return to the bosom of your loving and supportive family.
Eli Yishai, I call on you in my name and on behalf of many of my friends: Demonstrate leadership and public responsibility, and retire from political life. For your own good, for the good of your family, for the good of all of us. And just as you were paid for your demand, so you will be paid for your retirement.
