Gallant received with cheers at Shlomo Artzi concert
Ex-defense minister warmly welcomed at singer’s Binyamina show as he makes one of his first public appearances since Netanyahu fired him
MK Yoav Gallant, who was abruptly fired as defense minister last week, received a rousing ovation Saturday night when he arrived at a performance by legendary singer-songwriter Shlomo Artzi in Binyamina.
Some audience members even stood for the ex-defense minister as he and his entourage, which included several security guards, made their way to a set of reserved seats at the Zappa Amphi Shuni amphitheater.
Gallant arrived at the concert as Artzi played “Hom Yuli August” (“July-August Heat”), a 1986 hit based on stories from Israel’s 1967-1970 War of Attrition.
It was one of the first public appearances by the ex-defense minister, a military general-turned-Likud MK, since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed him from his role in the government on Tuesday. The official handover to his successor, erstwhile foreign minister Israel Katz, was held on Friday.
Netanyahu said that he and Gallant disagreed on the management of the war, and that the latter had made statements and taken actions that contradicted cabinet decisions. He also accused Gallant of indirectly aiding Israel’s enemies.
Gallant said he was dismissed due to disagreements with Netanyahu about conscription of the ultra-Orthodox, hostage negotiations with the Hamas terror group, and the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 attack and the handling of the war.
גלנט הגיע הערב להופעה של שלמה ארצי באמפי שוני – והתקבל במחיאות כפיים מהקהל@guyrimon1
(צילום: צופית דוני) pic.twitter.com/MK1wwBLDsW— גלצ (@GLZRadio) November 9, 2024
The bombshell announcement, which came after years of public clashes between the two men, was met with a mixture of outrage from members of the opposition and elation from coalition members, many of whom have been openly critical of Gallant’s position on a variety of matters pertaining to the war.
It also sparked several days of protests, recalling the first time Netanyahu fired Gallant, in March 2023, over his opposition to the government’s proposed judicial overhaul. At the time, facing a massive public outcry, the prime minister backtracked and reversed the firing. This time, the demonstrations were far smaller in scale.
Video of Gallant’s reception at the concert in Binyamina quickly circulated online Saturday night and was shown on television, prompting responses from several political figures.
In a post to X on Sunday, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli lashed out at the applause by Artzi’s supposedly left-leaning audience, saying it showed that Gallant wasn’t a true member of the so-called “national camp” led by Netanyahu.
MK Ahmad Tibi, of the Arab nationalist Ta’al party, meanwhile, criticized the warm welcome extended to Gallant from the other direction. “Why do Shlomo Artzi fans, and the ‘liberal camp,’ cheer specifically for generals who are responsible for the killing of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom are children?” he asked.
