Netanyahu says he opposes use of term ‘traitor’ for political opponents

After a string of MKs, public figures, and celebrities heavily criticized right-wing group Im Tirtzu for a new campaign that singles out Israeli artists and performers associated with left-wing organizations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns the controversy-courting organization, albeit in much less forceful terms than did even some of his own party members.

“[I] oppose the use of the word ‘traitor’ to describe those who disagree with me,” Netanyahu says. “We are a democracy and there is a multitude of opinions.”

The prime minister, however, uses the opportunity to condemn left-wing organization Breaking the Silence, who he claims, “slander Israel’s name in the world.”

The Im Tirzu campaign, launched on Wednesday and titled “Moles in Culture,” features a list of artists that includes a number of well-known Israeli authors, actors and musicians — writers Amos Oz, David Grossman and A.B. Yehoshua, actress Gila Almagor, and singers Rona Keinan and Chava Alberstein are featured — accusing them of being “moles” who support left-wing groups that receive some of their funding from foreign governments.

The campaign extends a drive by the group in late 2015 to accuse leading figures in Israel’s human rights organizations of being “moles” operated by foreign countries.