The Liberal Party today rejected charges by their Herut partners in the Gahal faction that they violated Gahal policy by voting for an electoral reform bill in the Knesset last week. Herut had accused the Liberals of “aiding the common enemy,” the Labor Alignment.
The Liberals retorted in large advertisements in Israeli newspapers today. They reminded Herut that Liberal policy has always favored direct elections over the present party slate system and that the Liberal stand on the matter was well-known when the Gahal bloc was formed in the 1960s.
“The Liberal Party has always held that only the introduction of regional-proportional representation elections can end the plethora of splinter factions and parties and pave the way for an alternative ruling party,” the Liberal statement said. The Liberals rejected Herut’s contention that the mixed direct elections-PR bill which the Knesset passed on its first reading was a Labor device to attain an absolute majority.
Prof. Vladimir Barboy of Kiev, a Jewish activist who was arrested for demonstrating and had his phone lines cut, has been granted a visa, Jewish sources in Russia reported.
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