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Has Israel's secular majority been abandoned by politicians?

While Israel argues over train maintenance on the Sabbath, Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid is not leading the battle against religious coercion but avoiding clashes with the ultra-Orthodox for his personal political interests.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid (C) walks with supporters as he campaigns in the southern city of Ashdod March 15, 2015. The era of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ending, with Israeli voters clearly more concerned about economic and social issues than about security or fears over Iran, Lapid said on Monday. Lapid, a telegenic former news anchor and TV host, leads the centrist, secular Yesh Atid party ("There's a Future"), which emerged out of the cost-of-living protests that swept Israel in 2011. Picture
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No one in the political system meant for it to happen, yet a new Sabbath crisis erupted in the last two weeks over maintenance and repair work on Israel Railways. At the time of this writing, the crisis had ended with an ultra-Orthodox victory as Saturday work was canceled and with the Supreme Court criticizing Netanyahu for reinstating part of the work, which he was unauthorized to do.

In the transportation chaos that disrupted the country, with train service halted until maintenance work is finished, the voice of Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid was resoundingly silent. Until recently, Lapid had been the representative of the secular community, but this time left the secular public without an effective leader to fight for them.

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