Ex-PM Olmert urges world leaders friendly to Israel to boycott Netanyahu

Former premier Ehud Olmert calls for world leaders friendly to Israel to boycott Prime Minister Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he assails over the government’s plans for overhauling the judiciary.

Speaking with Channel 12 news, Olmert says Netanyahu’s right-religious coalition should have accepted the alternative proposal put forward last night by President Isaac Herzog, slamming lawmakers for their criticism of the plan.

“The rudeness, the nastiness, the insults,” he tells the network. “The lack of boundaries will come back to strike those who practice this style.”

Olmert adds that he doesn’t believe Netanyahu is really in charge of the country, referring to reports that the premier was willing to accept Herzog’s framework, but was pressured to reject it by Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

“For a period of time he hasn’t been managing. In my opinion he’s in the advanced stages of a nervous breakdown, of a very deep emotional and mental crisis,” alleges Olmert, who lost a defamation suit last year for calling Netanyahu, his wife and eldest son “irreparably” mentally ill.

Olmert adds: “All prime ministers who define themselves as friends of Israel need to come out against the government. The government is anti-Israel.”