Religious Zionism Candidate Zvika Mor Outlines Knesset Goals and Security Views
Dr. Zvika Mor, chairman of the Tikvah Forum and Religious Zionism candidate, discussed his Knesset run, security policies, education goals, and dismissed recent political attacks.
Dr. Zvika Mor, chairman of the Tikvah Forum, father of released hostage Eitan Mor, and the number 5 candidate on the Religious Zionism party list, spoke with Gadi Ness on Radio Tzafon 104.5FM about his candidacy for the Knesset.
Entry into Politics and Security Focus
At the beginning of the interview, Dr. Zvika Mor shared updates regarding his son: "Eitan is doing very well. I am proud of him, of how he picks himself up and is busy with life, weaving his dreams. He is very sweet." He then discussed his placement on the Religious Zionism party list: "If you had asked me three years ago if I thought I would be in the Knesset, I would have laughed. I really didn't think about this direction at all; I was dealing with entirely different matters. But life leads you, and in my belief, the Creator leads us and sends us a way, in order to bring, through all of us, a blessing to the world."
"I am coming on two tickets. First of all, the security issue, which is what will bring me into the Knesset—the tragedy that Eitan was in captivity. Even when he was in captivity, I told the Prime Minister, 'Rescue the children in such a way that it will not harm the security of the state,'" he explained. "I told the Prime Minister that we want to be the last parents in Israel to have their children kidnapped. We believed that when we are determined, that is what will quickly bring about the release of the hostages. Meaning, any display of weakness on his part will strengthen Hamas."
Educational Aspirations and Defense of the Prime Minister
Dr. Mor also highlighted his professional background: "I come from the world of education; I was an educator in high schools for almost a decade, and now I lecture at a special education college. The subject of education interests me, and I think I can contribute to the State of Israel in this area. I aspire to receive the Ministry of Education portfolio. It is not for nothing that everyone wants this portfolio; everyone understands that everything depends on education."
Addressing current security matters and recent media reports, Mor dismissed a report by Haaretz regarding an alleged warning given to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the President of the UAE concerning Hamas: "I do not believe this in any way, and I want to say that things published in the Haaretz newspaper—I put a question mark on them. Toward the Haaretz newspaper, which accuses our soldiers of terrible things and is always against Israel, I put a big question mark from the outset. The question is why the Emiratis would need to call the Prime Minister, and not the head of the Shin Bet, the head of the Mossad, and the Chief of Staff."
He added, "The whole story could have been avoided if the head of the Shin Bet had demanded to speak to the Prime Minister. If the Prime Minister had done nothing, and God forbid the massacre had happened, there would be a big question facing him. We know the history of Prime Minister Netanyahu; over matters much less than this, he alerted the defense establishment. Netanyahu is very cautious, sometimes too cautious."
Criticism of Political Opponents
Mor further criticized current political campaigns against the government: "Now they are running a new campaign of 'You are the head, you are to blame,' but I do not believe them. The Haredi conscription campaign simply didn't do the job; there was a campaign and they used the issue of Haredi enlistment to bash the current government, and it turns out people didn't buy it. So now they are running a new campaign of 'You are the head, you are to blame,' but I do not believe them and I explain everywhere how they are busy sabotaging, instead of focusing on what they want to bring to the people of Israel."
"I haven't heard yet what the major left-wing parties want to bring to the people of Israel besides democracy—what does that mean? What democracy?" he clarified. "I do not hear what they have to sell to the State of Israel. Come on, tell us what you have to sell instead of attacking the right. I think they simply have nothing to sell."
