MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) told journalist Shneor Weber of the Merkaz Hainyanim newspaper that Prime Minister Yair Lapid is "very dangerous to Israel", among other things due to his conduct regarding the war in Ukraine.
"I don't like his behavior towards Russia, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jumping headfirst into the matter. This is a sensitive issue. Prime Ministers have always been careful when it came to foreign policy and there has always been moderation in their statements. But not only that, a Prime Minister who belittles things that are holy to Israel, when he is a Prime Minister who is supposed to represent everyone, he is not suitable," he stated.
Gafni blasted Lapid, saying, "Yair Lapid sits and eats at a non-kosher restaurant with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates. The Prime Minister of Israel, albeit a temporary prime minister, sits and eats at a non-kosher restaurant."
As for his loyalty to Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, Gafni said in the interview that "we are going with the right-wing bloc in any way and in any form. And if, God forbid, there won't be 61, the bloc will meet and decide what to do next. This bloc will be made up of all the groups and parties that make up this bloc."
"These elections are about the question of what the State of Israel will look like in the years to come," stated Gafni. "Whether it will be a more Jewish state or a more secular state that loses every trace of Judaism."
On the split that was avoided in United Torah Judaism, Gafni said, "There was a possibility of a split. We were close to it. It didn't come from the members of the Knesset, it didn't come from the wheelers and dealers, it came from the Torah sages."
Gafni added in the interview that "we learned a lot this year. We learned that we should not be fazed by what is written in the secular newspapers, we should do what needs to be done. We behaved too delicately even in relation to the issues that we think are the most important, also in relation to the issues of the court."