Likud MK Dudi Amsalem, known for his sharp tongue, has redoubled on his attacks on former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, insisting that he doesn't regret anything he said against him in the past.
Speaking at a local government conference, Amsalem said, "Everything we said about Bennett was right, including when we called him a crook and wouldn't refer to him 'prime minister.' Bennett destroyed Israeli democracy. He's a man who deceived his voters. Stealing money is one thing but stealing people's souls is something else entirely. These days, any snotty-nosed kid can call himself a prime minister. I'm shocked and appalled at what I see when I open the newspapers these days -- people are calling for an insurrection."
Responding to Amsalem's words, Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg said, "You need to serve as a role model. Like him or not, you can't call Bennett a crook and insult him like this. He's not the only politician who has lied to the public."
Amsalem, who is widely expected to serve as Knesset Speaker in the new government, also discussed the issue of "disgrace" as used against politicians, and expressed himself in favor of putting an end to its use. "I'm in favor of getting rid of this 'disgrace' issue. It's a matter of ethics rather than a legal issue," he said. He added that he "didn't say that I'll be Justice Minister or nothing -- I said that I would like either the Justice Ministry or the position of Knesset Speaker."
Another potential minister, Likud's Eli Cohen, weighed in on the controversy swirling around Likud's promise to Noam party head Avi Maoz to appoint him to oversee all the external educational content taught to children in schools. Cohen said he was opposed in principle to seeing the authority given to a minister being split between a number of people, adding that, "With regard to Avi Maoz, there won't be any content taught in schools that the local mayors or the school's administrations don't approve. I know that Netanyahu will be protecting pluralism and liberalism, and he won't allow problematic content to be introduced into schools. Likud is the ruling party, and we will be the ones setting policy."