Israeli election: Far-right, pro-cannabis libertarian may be kingmaker | World | News | Cape Breton Post - Maayan Lubell:
April 8, 2019 - "His political platform might be just a pipe dream - a heady mix of pot legalization and biblical temple reconstruction - but far-right candidate Moshe Feiglin could be a kingmaker in Israel's election on Tuesday. Drawing support from alienated young voters, Feiglin's new Zehut party has surged in the polls, which predict it could capture up to six of parliament's 120 seats and perhaps tip the balance in coalition-building that will follow the ballot.
"Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud nor his main challenger, centrist Benny Gantz of Blue and White, have public assurances from Zehut that it will be on their side when they try to form a government. Feiglin has said that his conditions to both men are the legalization of cannabis and control of the finance ministry, where he wants to cut corporate taxes and eliminate customs duties....
"[T]he libertarian Feiglin, 56, has showcased free markets and marijuana, with his plan for the Palestinians taking a back seat. His far-right policies call for annexation of the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, paid incentives to Palestinians to emigrate - and eventual construction of a third Jewish temple at the ... Temple Mount ... home to the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques....
"But it is the candidate's push for legalization of recreational marijuana that appears to have lit a fire under many young voters in Israel, where pot smoking is popular.... Others are drawn by Feiglin's vision of small government....
"Critics have cast Feiglin as a wolf in sheep's clothing, using the popular pot platform to get votes from bleary-eyed youngsters in order to promote an extremist agenda.... 'Joints on the Temple Mount,' was how the left-wing Israeli daily Haaretz headlined a recent editorial condemning Feiglin's 'ridiculous dreams of liberty and cannabis' and his 'ultranationalist and dangerous vision'....
"Feiglin, referring to his supporters, told Channel 12's Meet the Press on Saturday[:] 'A new generation has risen in Israel that wants its liberty and is very intelligent, and it's not the cannabis that is attracting them.'"
Read more: https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/world/israeli-election-far-right-pro-cannabis-libertarian-may-be-kingmaker-299108/
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April 8, 2019 - "His political platform might be just a pipe dream - a heady mix of pot legalization and biblical temple reconstruction - but far-right candidate Moshe Feiglin could be a kingmaker in Israel's election on Tuesday. Drawing support from alienated young voters, Feiglin's new Zehut party has surged in the polls, which predict it could capture up to six of parliament's 120 seats and perhaps tip the balance in coalition-building that will follow the ballot.
"Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud nor his main challenger, centrist Benny Gantz of Blue and White, have public assurances from Zehut that it will be on their side when they try to form a government. Feiglin has said that his conditions to both men are the legalization of cannabis and control of the finance ministry, where he wants to cut corporate taxes and eliminate customs duties....
"[T]he libertarian Feiglin, 56, has showcased free markets and marijuana, with his plan for the Palestinians taking a back seat. His far-right policies call for annexation of the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, paid incentives to Palestinians to emigrate - and eventual construction of a third Jewish temple at the ... Temple Mount ... home to the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques....
"But it is the candidate's push for legalization of recreational marijuana that appears to have lit a fire under many young voters in Israel, where pot smoking is popular.... Others are drawn by Feiglin's vision of small government....
"Critics have cast Feiglin as a wolf in sheep's clothing, using the popular pot platform to get votes from bleary-eyed youngsters in order to promote an extremist agenda.... 'Joints on the Temple Mount,' was how the left-wing Israeli daily Haaretz headlined a recent editorial condemning Feiglin's 'ridiculous dreams of liberty and cannabis' and his 'ultranationalist and dangerous vision'....
"Feiglin, referring to his supporters, told Channel 12's Meet the Press on Saturday[:] 'A new generation has risen in Israel that wants its liberty and is very intelligent, and it's not the cannabis that is attracting them.'"
Read more: https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/world/israeli-election-far-right-pro-cannabis-libertarian-may-be-kingmaker-299108/
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