Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was harshly criticized Monday morning for saying anti-judicial reform protesters were “joining forces with the PLO and Iran” in harming Israel.
“The protesters have made blocking roads a normal event, refusal [to serve in the military] normal, and they are defaming Israel before the world,” said Netanyahu ahead of his departure to the United States. “I was the head of the opposition, and I did not slander Israel in front of the world.”
Netanyahu’s office later clarified that he did not mean to equate protesters with Iran, but merely pointed out that for the first time in history, Israelis will be protesting outside the UN headquarters during an address by an Israeli premier along with Palestinian and BDS supporters.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said, “There is no person who has destroyed our image in the world more than Netanyahu in recent months. Nothing helps the Iranians more than the ‘coup d’état’ of his government. His accusations against the patriots of the protest is more proof of the serious disruption to his judgment and understanding of reality.”
Of course, we differ with Lapid. The agitators are being funded to purposely protest and create havoc against their own government. We know it’s all about the left’s desire for power and we fear that desire will reach a dangerous point where they will be equated too closely with what defines a terrorist. Their ongoing willingness to be a part this quest for power sends a bad message to the world and only fuels the flames of anti-Semitism and Israel hatred.