Mayor Ron Kobi of Tiberias, who is still struggling to raise a majority for the passing of the budget in his city, amid battles with the local haredi-religious public and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, told haredi radio station Kol Berama on Monday that he did not hate haredim and declared that he would be the next interior minister.
Referring to his just-announced Knesset run as head of the Secular Right Party, Kobi said, "I'm very serious and do things for the haredim too. I do not hate Haredim. Who said there will not be haredi member of my list? I will get between four and seven seats and I would be the next interior minister." He added, "I hope that the budget will pass tomorrow and the council members will understand that Tiberias deserves the budget even though Deri does not want the budget to pass."