states, while Jerusalem should remain undivided under Israeli rule. He is enthusiastic about annexing the Golan Heights, and has also declared that he is guided by a principle of "maximum Jews on maximum land with maximum security and with minimum Palestinians." Of the diplomatic stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Lapid said, "Most of the blame belongs to the Palestinian side, and I am not sure that they as a people are ready to make peace with us." He has also dismissed the possibility of a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians as unrealistic. In June 2015, after the March 2015 elections, Lapid visited the United States, and after an hour-long interview, American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote, "Lapid is a leader of the great mass of disillusioned centrists in Israeli politics. He could conceivably be prime minister one day, assuming Benjamin Netanyahu, in whose previous cabinet he served, ever stops being prime minister. Now functioning as a kind of shadow foreign minister, Lapid argues that Israel must seize the diplomatic initiative with the Palestinians if it is to continue existing as a Jewish-majority democracy, and he is proposing a regional summit somewhat along the lines of the earlier Arab Peace Initiative. Lapid is not a left-winger—he has a particular sort of contempt for the Israeli left, born of the belief that leftists do not recognize the nature of the region in which they live. But he is also for territorial compromise as a political and moral necessity, and he sees Netanyahu leading Israel inexorably toward the abyss." In September 2015, Lapid laid out his diplomatic vision in a major speech at Bar Ilan University in which he said, "Israel's strategic goal needs to be a regional agreement that will lead to full and normal relations with the Arab world and the creation of a demilitarized independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. That's where Israel needs to head. Separation from the Palestinians with strict security measures will save the Jewish character of the state." Lapid supports recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. He noted in 2017 that with Iran attempting to establish a foothold in Syria, Israel cannot be expected to relinquish the Golan Heights. Religion and state In 2013, when Yesh Atid sat in the government, Lapid pushed for increased public transportation on Shabbat, as opposed to the current law that mandates most public transportation shut down. Additionally, Lapid