Chacham Ovadiah: Lieberman Voters Support the Soton

Chacham Ovadiah Yosef said tonight in his weekly Motzoei Shabbos shiur that whoever supports Yisrael Beiteinu “supports the Soton.”

“These are people who do not have Torah, people who want civil marriages, shops that sell pork, and the army enlistment of yeshiva students,” Chacham Ovadiah said. “My heart is heavy. Heaven forbid people support them. This is completely forbidden. Whoever does so commits an intolerable sin. Whoever does so supports the Soton and the Yeitzer Hara.”

Meanwhile, Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni tonight sought to reassure Arab voters in the face of Yisrael Beiteinu’s aggressive campaign.

In a convention for the Arab community, Livni attempted to distance herself from Lieberman, despite talk that his party, Yisrael Beiteinu, may join forces with Kadima in a future coalition.

“You formed an alliance with us on the basis of declaration that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state,” Livni told those in attendance. “We are a Jewish State, yet this is not meant to hurt or force anyone to do something that contradicts their religion or beliefs. There is no need to choose between Jewish and democratic. There are those who face the public based on a feeling of hatred. I’m not there.”

The Kadima leader attempted to convey optimism ahead of the vote, saying that “there is a sense that victory is possible.”

“What will happen here is the dream of a nation, and we shall realize the dream on Tuesday,” she said.

During Livni’s speech, dozens of Hadash and Balad activists demonstrated outside the venue, slamming the foreign minister for her role in the recent Gaza War.

“Livni is responsible for the genocide in Gaza, so how does she have the nerve to ask us, members of the Palestinian people whose brothers were massacred over there, to seek our votes,” one protestor said.

Elsewhere, Lieberman addressed the repeated attacks against him in an election convention in the town of Arad.

“When I hear all the attacks, I realize that these people can’t contend with us because of their fear and panic, so they are resorting to mudslinging,” he said.

Also referring to Lieberman, among other rightist parties, frontrunner Benjamin Netanyahu told a Yerushalayim convention that there is no significance whether right-wing factions win one more or one less Knesset seat, as the important issue is to ensure a strong Likud that can form a stable government.

“We are nearing decision day,” Netanyahu said. “If you give your votes to other parties, you jeopardize Likud’s victory and risk the possibly of facing another election in a year and a half,” he said.

{Ynet/Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}