Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview he gave to Ben Caspit of Maariv, The Jerusalem Post’s sister publication, calling Netanyahu a false Messiah, a machine of lies, and allegedly not having any real loyalty to right-wing ideology.
In the context of Jewish history, false messiahs often led the Jewish people into large-scale disasters. Among them were Sabbatai Zevi (1626 – 1676) and Jacob Frank (1726 – 1791) who led their followers into abandoning the Jewish faith.
Liberman also slammed Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and MK Gabi Ashkanzi, saying that both men, who served as former IDF chiefs of staff, are “not smart” and their arrogance prevents them from taking advise from those more skilled in politics, such as himself.
Liberman, who was once a close friend and ally of Netanyahu when he decided to return to the country after serving as the Israeli envoy to the United Nations in 1988, told Caspit that not a single friend of Netanyahu from that time period stands with him today.
“The friends [Netanyahu] had from his university years, from his time in the IDF, from politics, not a single one stuck by him,” he said. “All this time in power [as] prime minister must ruin your humanity.”
When asked about the possibility that Netanyahu might annex the Jordan Valley, or perhaps parts of the West Bank under the so-called Deal of the Century offered by US President Donald Trump, Liberman said that the only goal Netanyahu has is to reach the needed 63-64 voices he needs in the Knesset to pass any legislation he needs (to avoid standing trial).
Netanyahu was meant to begin trial for alleged corruption and breach of trust in March, but after Justice Minister Amir Ohana shut down the regular functions of the courts due to COVID-19, the date had been postponed to May.
When asked about the possibility Gantz will eventually replace Netanyahu at the helm in a year and a half as part of a rotation agreement, Liberman said that “you [Ben Caspit] have a better chance to replace Netanyahu than Gantz.”
Netanyahu will make Gantz’s life “a living hell” until he will “resign on his own accord,” Liberman warned.
“He will seek an ideological excuse and break the deal,” he said.
Liberman also blamed Netanyahu for turning the Likud party into a group swayed by religious ideology and a culture of total agreement with the leader, arguing that he, Liberman, and his party stand for a secular form of right-wing ideology that is true to course.