David Amsalem at ht Knesset
David Amsalem at ht KnessetKnesset Channel

Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem has pointed out that since the current Israeli government was sworn in, the Israeli Left has done everything in its power to bring it down by ways other than the ballot box.

"Since this government was formed, the Left has not given it peace. The protests, the violence, the court. They have not allowed the government to govern from day 1," he told Kol Hai Radio.

"I thought that something would change after Simchat Torah (October 7. - ed.), and it changed for a short time, but the Left continues its path of blocking roads and creating anarchy."

Amsalem added, "We are fighting on two fronts: There are over 80,000 people who are not at home, and the Left remains unmoved. We will defeat Hamas, and after that we will deal with all of the weeds who are not allowing the State to function. They formed a movement and planned to burn down the Prime Minister's home - people who were in the defense echelon, and you don't hear the Attorney General saying anything about that - only when it pertains to haredim. Their goal is not to enlist the haredim but to bring down the government."

Amsalem also criticized the Supreme Court for their Thursday ruling, ordering that yeshivas be stripped of funding for students who are of age to enlist.

"The justices invalidated laws like thieves in the night - in a war, so that we would not notice," he said. "Now they want us to pass the Draft Law. The goal is to bring down the government. They raised money to bring down the government even before it was formed. In my opinion, the Deputy Attorney General, Gil Limon, who was an aide to [former Attorney General Avichai] Mandelblit - together, they are puling the strings. Not [Attorney General Gali Baharav-]Miara. I would fire them even during the war, if it were up to me."

In his opinion, the Israeli government is acting properly: "We are more responsible than they are, and because there is a war, this is not the time for a judicial reform. We act responsibly, unlike the Supreme Court justices and all that crowd, Ehud Barak and his friends, who still continue slandering and inciting constantly."

"Torah learning is an important foundation for the Jewish nation - without learning Torah, the Jewish nation does not exist. For 3,000 years they held on without an army - but not without Torah. This is the inheritance of the Jewish People."

Amsalem also noted that tens of thousands of secular Israelis do not enlist each year: "There are over 40,000 secular Israelis who do not enlist annually. By the way, I looked into it - the Arabs do not have an exemption, and despite this, the Arabs receive a full exemption, and the haredim arrive every year to file to defer their service, while the Arabs go to university at the State's expense and a haredi young man who wants to learn Torah.... Whoever is learning will continue to learn, and whoever is not should do National Service or similar."

"They hate us because we have the names Biton, Ohana, and Amsalem," he concluded, listing common Sephardic last names. "[Prime Minister] Netanyahu is persecuted because he leads us. If he were the leader of the 'Hershkowitzes' (a common Ashkenazic last name - ed.), they would work with him."