JERUSALEM – Israel’s coalition ministers warned Sunday the level of incitement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lead to an assassination attempt on the long-term premier.
In the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania Saturday, Netanyahu’s political allies threw their support behind the prime minister, effectively warning the same thing could happen in Israel.
In an X post, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichay Chikli published two images side-by-side; the first was The New Republic’s representation on the front cover of its latest publication
of Trump-as-Hitler, while the second was a black-and-white image of Netanyahu, with a red hand-print – a symbol for murderous violence following the lynching of two IDF soldiers in Ramallah in 2000 – over his face.
ניסיון ההתנקשות בנשיא טראמפ הוא תוצאה ישירה של מסע ההסתה והדה לגיטימציה המופרע נגדו. בישראל מסע הסתה זהה להחריד מתנהל כנגד רה״מ נתניהו ונהנה מחיסיון מלא של היועמ״שית ומערכת אכיפת החוק אך ורק מכיוון שהוא מגיע מהכיוון ״הנכון״. חרפה. pic.twitter.com/mlpiBzUVMb
— עמיחי שיקלי – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) July 14, 2024
“[The] assassination attempt against former President Trump is a direct result of the incitement and delegitimization campaign against him.”
“In Israel, a horrifyingly identical campaign of incitement is being waged against Prime Minister Netanyahu and enjoys complete immunity from the attorney general and the law enforcement system solely because it is coming from the ‘right’ direction. Shame,” he wrote.
Settlement Minister Orit Strook said she was concerned after the attempt on Trump. “There are credible threats against Netanyahu that must be dealt with,” she said in an interview. “If those threats were made from the right, there would be administrative detentions. There is incitement to attack Netanyahu and nothing is being done,” she said. In a post on X, she showed a letter copied to all government ministers and dated July 1, asking for a “review from the heads of the enforcement and intelligence systems on the handling policy on the issue.”
ההסתה להתנקשות ברוה”מ:
כבר לפני שבועיים ביקשתי שנקבל בממשלה סקירה מראשי מערכות האכיפה והמודיעין על מדיניות הטיפול בנושא.
לעת עתה נראה שלא ננקטים צעדים מספקים. https://t.co/alxzDEpJoN pic.twitter.com/uPAMyP9m1B— אורית סטרוק (@oritstrock) July 14, 2024
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi also took to X to claim the situation against the prime minister in Israel is doubly grave. “The serious incitement against Netanyahu, his wife [Sara], and son [Yair], is closer to being implemented than ever before.” He further argued the attorney general was not only allowing, but rather encouraging this to continue.
Both Sara and Yair Netanyahu – the latter of whom is the elder of the prime minister’s two sons – are controversial and divisive figures in their own right. Sara Netanyahu is said to wield outsized political power for an unelected official, and Yair too, whom Bibi has co-opted as a political adviser has often fought some of his father’s battles – particularly aiming invective at political opponents online. It also cannot be avoided that Netanyahu Jr. is holed up in the luxury Miami apartment of one of the prime minister’s billionaire U.S. backers. This can be held up in sharp relief to other senior political figures – in particular former IDF chief of staff and former war cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot – who lost both one of his sons and a nephew in the Gaza fighting. Whatever the wrongs and rights of the situation, Yair Netanyahu has been conspicuous by his absence.
Meanwhile, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar says, “We need to do everything in order to stop the extremist and violent dialogue here in Israel too before it’s too late.”
There is no doubt Netanyahu is unpopular, with a Channel 12 poll published Friday showing 72% of Israelis think he should resign over the Oct. 7 debacle. Forty-four percent said he should quit immediately, while 28% argued it should be after the conclusion of the war. Of the people polled who said they were Netanyahu supporters, 50% said he must leave office before his term’s completion. However, it is not entirely clear – despite growing weekly protests against Netanyahu, his government and the lack of a hostage deal – that the situation in either Israeli politics or civil society is akin to the atmosphere immediately prior to Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination in November 1995.
One aspect of unanimity among Israel’s politicians, however, was in their response to the attempted Trump assassination. At the start of the cabinet’s weekly session Sunday, Netanyahu took a moment to address the situation in the U.S. Speaking from Jerusalem, he said the shooting was “not only a heinous crime [but] an attempt to assassinate American democracy.”
In the early hours of Sunday morning, he wrote on X that he and his family were praying for the former president’s well-being. He followed it up later in the day Sunday with a video posted to X.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
“Like all Israelis, my wife Sara and I were shocked by the horrific assassination attempt on the life of President Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/nMAA4m6rUI
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 14, 2024
Israel’s 11th President Isaac Herzog also expressed the nation’s alarm at the events in Pennsylvania. He wished Trump a speedy recovery, while condemning “utterly and unequivocally the attempt on his life.”
On behalf of all the Israeli people, I wish former President Donald Trump a speedy recovery, and condemn utterly and unequivocally the attempt on his life. From Jerusalem we wish him well. Our thoughts are with all those injured, and the family of the spectator killed.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 14, 2024
Former prime ministers Naftali Bennett, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid all chimed in with expressions of support for Trump, and mirrored each other’s horror at the assassination attempt.
Together with the people of Israel, I’m horrified by the assassination attempt on President Trump.
We pray for his recovery and for the strength of the United States of America.
May God bless you— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) July 14, 2024
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