Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman, MK Avigdor Lieberman, spoke this evening (Wednesday) with Ben Caspit and Aryeh Eldad on 103FM, addressed the coalition crisis and attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
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""Yes, of course. Anyone with eyes in their head understands that today was also an election speech by the Prime Minister, intended for the elections, even his wife's synchronized interview on Channel 12, all of this is part of an election campaign. We are already in the midst of the system.".
Ostensibly, Netanyahu could have leveraged the fact that Blue and White disappeared from the vote on the law submitted by Yair Lapid, and told them, 'Is that so? There is no government.' But he didn't do that today.
""He's doing it his way, trying to maintain composure. Even though he was the one who demanded that the coalition agreement have a special clause for a two-year budget, he's now insisting on a one-year budget, and here too, of course, Blue and White has backed down. Now he's demanding that the coalition agreement be opened, and even if Blue and White surrender on the issue of the coalition agreement, then he'll come up with something else. It's clear to anyone who heard him in the Knesset today that we're in an election, I said it a few weeks ago, we're in the midst of an election campaign.".
When you encounter Benny Gantz or Gabi Ashkenazi in the Knesset corridors, do you smile and tell them, 'I told you not to believe a single word of him'?
""They made a much bigger move than that. It's not about whether to believe it or not, they can't be believed anymore either. There was a very precise summary, they built an outline for a unity government, and for some reason they decided to run and join Netanyahu's fifth government. In the last conversation with Benny Gantz, who I wish him a speedy recovery on a personal level, I told him - you're done.
""We sat in his room alone, I told him he did something that shouldn't be done, and he's the first to pay the price. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened, one by one.".
So who will be the leader of the alternative camp against Netanyahu?
""First of all, we need to understand why Netanyahu is doing this. What is clear is that Netanyahu does not intend to reach the trial that is supposed to open in January. If I translate what Netanyahu is doing, then he wants to reach 62 or 63 seats without me, on November 18. Then, pass the override clause and the French law. And if he fails to do this, I think he will run straight to a plea deal, these are the moves he is building.
""As for an alternative camp, I don't know what alternative is. My goal is very clear – a Zionist and liberal coalition, just like Jabotinsky planned. We will not sit in any coalition without a few clear things being accepted, such as civil marriage, public transportation on Shabbat, core studies and the recruitment of yeshiva students, just as we will not under any circumstances sit in a minority government with the support of the Joint List from the outside.".
But it's something you were willing to do last time.
""No, no, no. Last time we recommended Gantz in order to build a unity government, and I told him – this is the outline, I told him this is the way, that we need to take control of every entry point in the Knesset in the positions of Knesset Speaker, in the Regulatory Committee, in the Finance Committee and in the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, to pass a law in the first reading that would prevent a Knesset member who has an indictment against him from being a candidate for prime minister, and after that to sit with Netanyahu and bring about a national unity government.".
But there can't be a true unity government if you're talking about civil marriage. It's a unity government without Yamina, without the Haredim, and without the Likud, so what's left?
""I said it exactly, albeit with a heavy Russian accent, but clearly: I want a liberal and Zionist coalition. What does it mean, there is no Yamina? I hear that Bennett and Shaked are also supposedly playing around with all sorts of things of this kind. Without this, we have nothing to look for in the government, and we will fight for the principles, not for the seats. For some reason, everyone paradoxically accepts that the Haredim do not give up their principles.
""We don't want to impose anything on the Haredi, on the contrary - live and let live. I have nothing against the Haredi population, I have a lot against religious coercion. They cannot dictate to the rest of the population in the State of Israel how they will marry and what they will eat. The time has come for them, as Herzl wrote in the book 'The Jewish State,' to deal with religion, the synagogues, the Torah scrolls, and not to interfere in our lives.".
But because of the situation we are stuck in, with a fourth election, a fifth and maybe even a sixth Netanyahu government, and everything is on hold because Netanyahu is not letting go – one would think that maybe you or others would agree to compromise, and decide that in order to get rid of Netanyahu, you would shut up and form a coalition with them. Which I say you will not do, you will remain with your principles without the support of the Joint List and without the Haredim.
""Everyone understands that the Haredim in the government, especially in recent years, have too much influence. They are acting in a blatant, forceful manner, and it's time to cool them down for a few years in opposition. If you want to implement a reform to deal with the economic situation, when the Haredim are in the government, it's impossible. I remember Netanyahu as finance minister in 2003-2005, he was an excellent finance minister, and then he decided, for example, on the dramatic cut in benefits. It is clear that today, if the Haredim are in the government, it is impossible to make a cut in their benefits.".
Because of the coronavirus, you can't cut benefits today. People will be left without bread.
""The coronavirus has brought us into an economic crisis like we never knew, and Netanyahu is crushing the Israeli economy. His approach is 'after the flood,' he took out 160 billion shekels in loans through bonds and all kinds of loans for 100 years that even the great-grandchildren will pay, some of them at a very high interest rate of 4.5 percent, and instead of investing it in growth engines, infrastructure, and job creation - Netanyahu is scattering this money as election bribes. On the one hand, they are adding 400 million shekels to yeshivas, and on the other hand, they are sending all the employees of the National Library - 300 employees - on unpaid leave.".
It's good that you say that because we'll talk about the National Library later.
""We also need to understand that beyond Netanyahu's desire to drag the country into elections solely because of his private, personal, and legal problems, there is a systemic failure here. We must still return to this old-fashioned thing of changing the system of government. The mere fact that one person can drag an entire country into elections four times in two years is a systemic failure.".
""Therefore, we need to think from another perspective as well. We must reach a situation where the elections are over and after an hour or two we know who won and who lost.".
You know Netanyahu and have been with him right from the beginning. What we've seen in recent weeks and days, this whining of 'we are being threatened,' 'we are being murdered,' 'we are being raped,' 'we are being harassed,' 'the Attorney General is allowing my blood to be shed' – is this real or is this a show? Are they really afraid?
""This is part of the campaign. This is an appeal to emotion, to the belly of the right.".
Even when the threats are real?
""Netanyahu and his family are secured at perhaps the highest level in the world. As a public figure, you have to understand that you pay prices, this is nothing new. I think every public figure knows how much he receives curses and threats and insults every day. But right now, it's part of the campaign strategy, how to arouse the base, how to appeal to emotions. It's part of the campaign - clear and concise.".
