The president of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, Eliad Shraga, has faced a backlash by members of his own organization in the wake of the controversial speech he delivered against the government over the weekend, Israel Hayom has learned.
At an anti-corruption rally on Saturday, Shraga said that the "appointment of MK David Amsalem as coalition chairman proves that the lessons of the past have not been learned; nothing has been internalized. The prime minister looked for a mentally challenged, sniveling thug [Amsalem], who could continue the assault on the police, the State's Attorney's Office and the Supreme Court."
His comments have led some in the movement to announce that they were renouncing their membership. "When I heard the speech, I could not believe these words were coming out of his mouth. The rubbish he was spewing revealed that he is a racist anarchist," a former police officer told Israel Hayom said. The officer, who agreed to be identified as G., said he left the movement after the speech.
"I heard the speech again over the radio on Sunday and when I realized he was not walking it back, and actually doubling down on it, I concluded that there was something that was just off," he continued. "Corruption and ethical conduct of government is something I hold dear, but the movement has turned itself into a radical left-wing organization that is calling for a coup. I will not partake in this thing, and I therefore cut my membership card." When asked why members were not going to be effective in changing Shraga's conduct he replied: "He controls all of the movement's organs and at the end of the day it does only what he wants it to do."
Another member, W., wrote a Facebook post and said she would leave the movement because it had become politicized, writing: "The movement has hidden its real face, with a façade of righteousness. I supported it and donated to it over the years, and I was naïve to think that they were actually fighting corruption in government, but then I realized that their crusades are highly selective: Their attacks on the Right are as strong as their forgiving attitude toward the Left."
Another former member, M., said:"I was a member for about two years before realizing that the movement needs a different name, not the Movement for Quality Government in Israel but Movement for Quality of their Self Interest. I was an IDF officer, I come from a different background, but then I realized that everything is driven by personal interests." M. said he didn't have to wait to hear Shraga to know that there was a problem with the movement and he left several months ago. "If I was still a member, I too would have cut my membership card," he said.
Others also lashed out at the organization on social media. S., another member, said: "I was a die-hard member, but you were a great disappointment. You are out to get people rather than to eradicate public corruption. "
Another member, Y., wrote: "I keep getting emails asking me to come to the protests to demand better government. Some in public feel that law enforcement's degree of forgiveness or scrupulousness depends on whether the elected leaders are from the Right or from the Left. It is not just a feeling."
R. wrote: "We saw the cynical use of the Left against the state of Israel, Zionism and the people. If they were so pure, they would have stopped the protest as soon as it had become a political and a radical left-wing prowwww."
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel issued the following statement: "The movement is apolitical and nonpartisan and has been fighting for quality government and ethical conduct for about 30 years. The movement has fought for years for ethical conduct against every political entity whenever its conduct raised questions, without any bias or favoritism. The movement has tens of thousands of members from all political persuasions; it is a democratic organization whose officials are elected every three years. It will continue in its current struggle to uphold the rule of law in Israel, as the vast majority of its members expect it to do."
