Former prime minister Naftali Bennett expressed outrage after Channel 14 interviewed the YouTuber who claimed Bennett and his mother are Christian and referred to Bennett's lawsuit against the social media figure as "silencing" on Tuesday.
זוועה. לפני 20 דקות אמא שלי שלחה לי סרטון של הראיון הזה היום בערוץ 14 תחת כותרת נבזית ״סתימת פיות״, כלומר שראש הממשלה לשעבר נפתלי בנט (אני) תובע כביכול על מנת להשתיק ביקורת. אבל על מה התביעה?לא על ביקורת, אלא על כך שהרב מזרחי הפיץ ברבים כאילו אמי>> pic.twitter.com/XlGc9JliH0
— Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) January 24, 2023
"Horrible. 20 minutes ago my mother sent me a video of this interview today on Channel 14 under the disgusting title 'silencing,' as if to say that former prime minister Naftali Bennett (me) is allegedly suing in order to silence criticism," tweeted Bennett.
Bennett added that his mother told him "I'm broken. My parents in heaven are crying right now."
"There is a terrible poison machine that tirelessly spreads lies and poison and this machine endangers us all. Now there are those who raise money to protect these people in the name of 'freedom of speech.' And Channel 14 engineers awareness as if this is what it is about," added the former prime minister.
"I won't stop. I am moving forward with all my strength and all my resources to sue the producers of the poison and its agents."
"I'm not fighting for me, but for everyone who wants a better State of Israel. And for my good mother. And for her parents, grandfather Israel and grandmother Michala, may their memory be a blessing, good Jews who lost their families in the Holocaust, and cannot respond."
The lawsuit against Mizrahi is one of three against figures who spread similar rumors against the former prime minister and his mother. Bennett stated that he will donate the sums received from the lawsuits to IDF soldiers and families.
Bennett's grandparents lost much of their family in the Holocaust.
YouTuber sticks to claims in Channel 14 interview
The Channel 14 interview which sparked Bennett's ire started with the host stating "it's good that he's the 'former' prime minister and I hope he'll always remain 'former.'" The host added at the end that the lawsuits "speak to [Bennet's] standing" and that he hopes that Bennett will withdraw the lawsuit.
During the interview, Mizrahi avoided admitting that he had lied about Bennett and his mother, stating "things will become clear later."
Mizrahi claimed that he was being targeted, as the rumor had been repeated by "thousands" of social media users before he stated it in his YouTube video. The YouTuber added that he "of course did not intend to hurt [Bennett] on a personal level" and only intended to attack the former prime minister for his political views.