Traveling to US, FM Cohen calls anti-government protests abroad ‘illegitimate’

In a social media post sent as he travels to New York, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen launches a fresh barb at anti-government demonstrators.

“When we were in the opposition, we never spoke out against the State of Israel in the world,” Cohen, a member of the ruling Likud party, claims on the X platform. “The protests against Netanyahu overseas and the defamation against him in Israel cross a red line and are illegitimate.”

“It’s not surprising that this is coming from the same people who call for insubordination and taking money out of the country, and thus are acting with their own hands to harm Israel’s security and economy,” the Jewish state’s top diplomat further charges.

Cohen’s post came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused protesters against the judicial overhaul of “joining forces with the PLO and Iran,” before departing Israel. Following an outcry, Netanyahu later sought to soften his remarks, asserting he was referring to the fact that the anti-overhaul protesters would be demonstrating at the same time as pro-PLO and pro-BDS activists, while making no reference to his earlier comments about Iran.

While in New York, Cohen is to hold a series of meetings with foreign ministers on the sidelines of UN General Assembly, where he will be joined by Netanyahu following the premier’s daylong trip to the San Francisco Bay Area.