Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahuצילום: קובי גדעון, לע"מ

A senior member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet criticized him on Tuesday for slamming journalist Ilana Dayan's televised expose of his inner sanctum.

"Netanyahu's routine branding of anyone who argues with him as a 'leftist' doesn't work anymore," the minister said, a first reaction to the controversy by a member of Israel's government.

"Likud members no longer buy the attempt to turn Erdan, Katz, Saar, Lieberman, Bennett and Shaked into leftists because they don't agree with his (Netanyahu's) whims," the minister said.

Culture Minister Miri Regev came to Netanyahu's defense, writing on her Facebook page "the prime minister yesterday redefined the rules of the game with journalists acting out of political and personal motives."

She praised Netanyahu's spouse, Sara, for pursuing public service"despite the ugly smear campaign she's going through."