Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) on Monday blamed the rise in the cost of living on the haredi community.
"The fact that 50% of the haredi community does not participate in the work force is a central reason for the cost of living," Liberman claimed.
Haredi women almost all work, but many haredi men study in yeshiva long-term.
MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) quickly responded, saying, "The harsh statements about the cost of living made by Liberman during a party meeting are not even worthy of a response. His words should be sent in a wheelbarrow to a garbage dump."
The "wheelbarrow to the garbage dump" statement was an echo of a statement made by Liberman in early 2021, when he told Channel 12 News, "I will send the haredim, together with [then-Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, in one wheelbarrow to a garbage dump."
Liberman later claimed that his statement was misunderstood, telling the Ofira & Berkovic program, which airs on Channel 12, "The statement was misunderstood, there was no intention here. It was perhaps not the most successful statement, but so be it."