MK apologizes for appearing to say minister slept her way to the top in army – sort of

Yesh Atid lawmaker Elazar Stern apologizes to women who might have been offended by his remark earlier this week in the Knesset in which he appeared to suggest that Culture Minister Miri Regev traded sexual favors for advancement in her military career.

“Since I am aware of what is happening on social media and understand that there are women who have been offended by (what I said), I express my sorrow to them and only to those women,” Stern says in the Knesset plenum.

“But Miri Regev is not one of them. She was not hurt by what I said. She used it for another round (of publicity) in the media.”

During a Knesset debate on Monday, Stern quipped about Regev that “I don’t want to talk about how you advanced in the army. It’s not worth it [for you]. It’s not worth it.”

The statement sparked a flurry of chauvinism allegations against Stern, who later denied his remarks were a reference to sexual impropriety and doubled down on his criticism of Regev.

After initially refraining from explaining his remark at the Knesset podium, Stern later said it was a comment on Regev’s “over-enthusiasm in serving her masters” and her being too willing to kiss up to get promotions, not about sexual favors.