Former Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who has been working to mediate between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, responded on Sunday to the harsh criticism that has been leveled at him on the left.
“I had an amusing day. Thousands of thugs and bots from the Black Flags organization attacked my cellphone. Abusive swearing and verbal violence of the worst kind. All this in the name of ‘the fight for democracy’ of course," Ramon wrote on Twitter.
"As someone who has also experienced personal attacks from the right, I inform you that the brutality of the left far exceeds that of the right," the former minister added.
Ramon has been trying in recent days to mediate between Netanyahu and Gantz, in order to reach an agreement that will prevent the dissolution of the Knesset and enable the government to function.
MK Tehila Friedman (Blue and White) expressed her displeasure over the fact that Ramon, who was previously convicted of indecent assault, was entrusted with the negotiations on behalf of the party.
“I must say that it hurt me to find out that a person convicted of a sex-related offense represents me and us in negotiations. We will talk tomorrow. Have a good week," Friedman wrote.
While Ramon has long been associated with political activists on the left of the political spectrum, he has maintained support for Netanyahu and has argued against putting him on trial for alleged infractions in Case 4000. He has expressed support for the law allowing a Knesset majority to override Supreme Court rulings which he has said was legislated with discretion.
Ramon, who served as an MK for the Labor party on and off between 1991 and 2005, was one of the founders of Kadima and the first MK from Labor to join then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon when he split from the Likud and joined Kadima. He was later appointed Justice Minister in former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government.
Ramon resigned from the Knesset in 2006 after he was indicted for indecent assault. He was later convicted and sentenced to community service, but the court did not find moral turpitude in his actions.
Ramon returned to the government in 2007 and resigned from the Knesset in 2009, remaining only on the Kadima council. He quit Kadima altogether in 2012, when the party’s leader at the time, Shaul Mofaz, agreed to join a unity government with Netanyahu.