Former Finance Minister MK Yisrael Katz (Likud) on Wednesday attacked Minister Avigdor Liberman over his attitude toward haredim.
In an interview on Reshet Bet radio, Katz accused Liberman of behaving "like the greatest antisemites in history."
"What Liberman is doing, when he threatens to cut the meat of the haredi budget, is singling out the haredi public as a victim. Previously he said that whoever is not loyal to the state will not have citizenship, now he says that whoever is not loyal to the government will have their budgets cut."
"Whenever Liberman is in distress because the cost of living is skyrocketing, he hits the haredim in the way the greatest antisemites in history behaved," Katz added.
Earlier this week, Liberman mocked haredi yeshiva students, accusing them of “idleness,” and urged the government to cut stipends to yeshiva students.
"Most of the money goes to kollels (yeshivas for married men), where people learn from age 29 until pension," he claimed. "They come in the morning and eat a sandwich, drink coffee, talk politics, and then open a few books. There is no reason to fund them."
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and MK Nir Orbach, said on Tuesday they would not permit Liberman to cut payments to married yeshiva students in the 2023 budget.