Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu addressed warnings given by senior politicians in the United States over the ramifications of including Itamar Ben Gvir in a potential cabinet should Likud get the nod from President Herzog to form the next government.
In an interview with Likki Adamker and Israel Cohen on the ultra-Orthodox radio station "Kol Ba'rama," Netanyahu said: "We are a democracy and we will decide who will be in the next government. I know how to stand up for what we need and my instinct is not to bow my head, and I know how to say 'no' when necessary."
Barak & I reported earlier this month that Menendez has also raised concerns to Netanyahu about including right-wing extremists if he were to form a new government, saying it could harm U.S.-Israel bilateral relations https://t.co/yXnx1LAMt3 https://t.co/b8yV60BTCv
โ Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) October 26, 2022
After the interview aired, Netanyahu added a statement regarding Democrat Senator Robert Menendezโs warning to Netanyahu about Ben Gvir in a future government. Menendez said that an Israeli government with Ben Gvir would have negative consequences for relations between the United States and Israel.
"I said to Menendez, 'Are you talking to me about someone who believes in the State of Israel and supports Israel Defense Forces soldiers? I haven't heard a word about Gantz and Lapid sitting with Mansour Abbas and the Muslim Brotherhood who deny Israel as a Jewish state and go to the mourning houses of those who murdered Jews."
In an interview with Kol Barama, Netanyahu rejected the messages he received from Democratic Senator Robert Menendez regarding the appointment of Ben Gabir as minister: "We are a democracy and we will decide who will be in the next government.
โ ืืืื ืฉืืื ืคืื. ืึธื, ืกืึนืคึตืจ. ืึตื ืึผืึนืชึถืึถืช.๐ (@ilanshpr) October 25, 2022
During the interview, Netanyahu was asked about the possibility of negotiating a plea deal in the cases pending against him, even if he returns to serve as prime minister, he refused to speak on the matter. "It's nonsense. On the contrary, what would I want? That the trial collapses and unravels with the rude things you pinned on me will be broadcast live on television, that all the citizens of Israel will see how everything collapses and unravels."
The head of the opposition also referred to the changes that the bloc led by him will make in the judicial system if he wins the elections. "The corrections that are required in the judicial system should be made in a responsible and informed manner. We should not destroy but repair." To the question of whether attorney general Gali Baharev Miara should be fired, Netanyahu replied, "I am not involved in appointments or placements. It's not personal, it's systemic. we are not here to fire anyone, but to solve it."
Netanyahu spoke about his relationship with the ultra-Orthodox parties and said that he is not afraid that they will form a government with Gantz. "They said unequivocally that they are not going with him. Gantz is a leftist. Gafni also said in the most blunt way that they are going with Netanyahu and the Likud in any case, and it is good that he said that ."
New chairman of Torah Judaism, Yitzhak Goldknopf: "Budgets are withheld from ultra-Orthodox schools because they don't study math & English. Why? 'Because in 20 years...' I've been hearing this sentence for 20 years - I didn't see that mathematics advanced country economically" https://t.co/v8keee25YW
โ Treat others as you would like to be treated (@SM_123) October 16, 2022
However, Netanyahu implicitly criticized the words of the incoming chairman of the ultra-orthodox party United Torah Judaism (Agudat Yisrael), Yitzhak Goldknopf, who said that math and English did not advance the Israeli economy and that studying the Torah is more difficult than sending soldiers to the front. "He said what he said. This is an election period. People say things and I don't attach importance to it, nor does it reflect my attitude."
