As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz butted heads at the opening of today’s cabinet meeting over an arrest during a protest outside of the Prime Minister’s Residence, another tiff between the two, which they hadn’t meant to publicize, was recorded.
Some 15 minutes before the cabinet meeting began, Gantz told Netanyahu’s staff he wanted to say a few words to the media after the premier speaks, as he has done occasionally in the past few weeks, according to footage obtained and aired by Channel 12.
When Netanyahu finished speaking, his associates told the journalists present that the public part of the meeting was over and that they should leave, according to the footage.
Gantz looked angrily at Netanyahu’s chief of staff Asher Hayoun, who replied: “Only now he told me [that you want to speak].”
Gantz answered: “What do you mean he now told you? I said it 15 minutes ago.”
Hayoun then whispered to Netanyahu: “He told me he wanted to speak for a minute” and the premier interjected: “He will speak later, not now.” Gantz, still visibly angry, then said: “No, no, I understand, it’s fine.”
The footage ends with Netanyahu saying he had been told Gantz wanted to speak at the opening of the coronavirus cabinet, a separate panel of ministers overseeing the government response to the pandemic.
From left to right: Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Asher Hayoun and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the weekly cabinet meeting, at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on June 28, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
