In a recent television interview, Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman leveled a series of sharp accusations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partners, significantly escalating his pre-election rhetoric.
At the core of Liberman’s remarks was a warning about the danger of politicizing the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet). He urged agency personnel to thoroughly document any politically motivated requests directed at them, stressing the need to uphold institutional integrity.
Liberman’s criticism also took aim at the government’s legislative agenda, which he characterized as “Taliban-style lawmaking.” He singled out the Shas party and its leader, Arye Deri, for particular scorn, while also calling into question the competence of former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot. “I don’t grasp this drive to legitimize Shas and Deri,” he said. “The idea to legitimize them stems from Eizenkot’s inexperience and his failure to grasp the political landscape.”
The politician also flatly ruled out the possibility of his party joining any coalition that includes Shas or United Torah Judaism. On the matter of military conscription, he reiterated his non-negotiable demand for universal draft legislation, warning that educational institutions failing to teach core subjects would see their state funding cut off.