Gantz slams Likud MKs who used Bennett’s hospitalization for political attacks

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz condemns politicians who launched political attacks against former prime minister Naftali Bennett, after he was hospitalized overnight.

“Have we gone crazy? How did we get to the point where even a person’s health condition becomes an arena for political conflict,” tweets Gantz, in an apparent response to tweets by some coalition lawmakers who mixed wishes for Bennett’s health with attacks on his politics in social media posts.

“You can wish [him] a speedy recovery, or you can say nothing, but you shouldn’t use a person’s medical condition for a fourth-rate political attack,” Gantz continues, insisting that this is as true for Bennett as it was for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he underwent prostate removal surgery last December.

Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman also condemned efforts to politicize Bennett’s condition, tweeting that he should not take the insults to heart.

Following the announcement of Bennett’s hospitalization, during which he underwent cardiac catheterization, Osher Shekalim, a lawmaker from Netanyahu’s Likud party, posted that he wondered “how someone who collapses at age 53 from working out would be able to manage seven arenas of conflict.”

Shekalim went on to “request that his medical records be disclosed immediately, as is required by law.” As Bennett does not hold public office, he is not required to disclose his medical record.

Likud MK Tally Gotliv also wished Bennett a speedy recovery, expressing hope that his medical issues would spark self-examination and remind him “that every day, God forbid, a person may be called to account before the creator of the world.”

She tweeted that she hoped he would “abandon your style of false promises and remember that you used the votes of the right-wing religious public and allied yourself with the Muslim Brotherhood,” adding: “We haven’t forgotten.”