Zionist Union chief Isaac Herzog blasted a Channel 10 journalist after the close of the Rosh Hashanah holiday Tuesday night, claiming a false report forced him out of synagogue in the middle of holiday prayers.
“I was sitting in synagogue for close to four hours yesterday,” Herzog told Channel 10, “and near the end there was suddenly a great commotion and I was pulled out [of the synagogue]; it pains me to desecrate the holiday because of a [false] report made up by your reporter, Sefi Ovadia, a report that could have waited – [after all], people were praying and it’s a holiday – [but instead] he creates this firestorm with a report that is just utterly false.”
The report, publicized by Channel 10, suggested that the Zionist Union and Likud government held extensive coalition negotiations over the Rosh Hashanah holidays. The Channel 10 report even spelled out the parameters of a proposed coalition agreement, with the Zionist Union receiving eight ministries including the Foreign Ministry, and Ministry of Culture and Sport.
As word of the supposed negotiations spread, Herzog was forced to respond to the claims, dispelling them as baseless rumors.
“It’s a complete lie,” he told Channel 2 on Tuesday. “And not only that, but it’s important to me that everyone know it’s a lie.”
“There were no meetings, there have been no contacts,” Herzog later added in an interview with Channel 10.
Herzog called the rumors an effort to “break up the Zionist Union and create [political] spin.”
“If there is a concrete offer, I will bring in party members and weigh it; there’s no need to make a big commotion over [such an offer].”
But MK Mickey Rosenthal (Zionist Union), said to be planning to contend against Herzog to head the party, questioned Herzog’s denial of the report, noting past obfuscations regarding negotiations.
“Herzog’s denials aren’t convincing, particularly given the fact that in the past he denied [similar claims] but was eventually shown to have been not telling the truth. If his intentions are really honest and straightforward about not planning to join the Netanyahu government, Herzog needs to respond to call to bring the faction together and let them members make a collective decision on [the issue], and [until then] not hold any negotiations on entering the coalition.”