Makers and Takers, Israel Edition

In the context of the Israeli political spectrum, the Yesh Atid party -- led by former television host Yair Lapid -- counts as a "centrist" party. But the big winners in yesterday's election actually have some rhetorical tropes on economics that are very similar to the American right. Here's an account by Isabel Kershner of a seminal newspaper column Lapid wrote: His father was a Holocaust survivor who went on to serve as justice minister. His mother is a well-known novelist. A year ago, when Mr. Lapid decided to quit television and enter politics, he set himself the mission of representing the country’s struggling middle class, a long-neglected constituency. He presented a common appeal, refreshing for an Israeli politician. As the author of a widely read column in the weekend supplement of the newspaper Yediot Aharonot, he wrote a column under a title that became his cat...