Liberman says Likud endangering right-wing legislation

Yisrael Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Liberman announces his Knesset faction would vote against all bills brought by the right-wing coalition, even if it agrees with their content. He explicitly mentions Culture Minister Miri Regev’s so-called “Loyalty in Culture” bill as one his party will no longer support.

Speaking at a gathering with journalists in the Knesset, the recently resigned ex-defense minister accuses the ruling Likud party of prioritizing the passage of the so-called “Gideon Sa’ar Bill,” which would limit who Israel’s president can select as prime minister following an election to the head of the largest elected Knesset faction, over more substantive bills that matter to the “nationalist camp.”

The Gideon Sa’ar Bill is seen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters as key to ensuring Netanyahu secures a fourth consecutive term as premier after the next election.

“The coalition has 61 members [in parliament],” Liberman says. “Its problem is that some members, like [Likud MK] Benny Begin and the Kulanu faction are opposed [to the Loyalty in Culture Bill]. We’re willing to support any law that fits our views. We came with a deal: we’ll enable the passage of the Legal Advisers [Bill], [the] Loyalty in Culture [Bill], canceling paroles for terrorists, and [instituting] the death penalty [for terrorists]” — all initiatives backed by Yisrael Beytenu when they were part of the government.

But, Liberman adds, “Likud had one condition: that we support the Gideon Sa’ar Bill.”

The party will not agree to that condition, he says, blaming Likud, therefore, for effectively stopping the passage of the rest of the right-wing’s legislative agenda.