Likud MK David Amslem lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, accusing him of racism and “humiliating” him after he was snubbed in the allocation of cabinet portfolios.
Amsalem, the most high-profile Likud MK not to receive a ministerial position as Netanyahu formed his government, was seeking either to become justice minister or Knesset Other positions refused after being denied both by the speaker and explicitly.
Speaking to supporters gathered outside his home on Friday, Amslem – in a rare open show of dissent from a Likud MK – said it was not a personal insult, but against all Sephardic Jews.
“The one who decided not to give me a portfolio was the prime minister,” Amslem said, accusing Netanyahu of spinning “Ali Baba” to explain why he could not become Knesset speaker.
“You can’t insult David Amslem, I’m a team player, but this insult was aimed directly at me,” he said.
Amsalem said he asked Netanyahu why he was not getting the top spot despite being voted fourth in the Likud primaries. “Where’s David Amsalem? are you passing me by what I have done? What sin have I committed?
Amsalem accused Netanyahu of specifically targeting him because he is a Sephardic Jew.
“You don’t offend me. You don’t offend us Sephardim. Never! No one will offend us Mizrahi Jews, not even a prime minister from Likud,” he said, claiming that that Sephardic Jews make up 70 percent of Likud supporters.
“We don’t need to apologize for coming fourth. What is this impudence? I see it as a great ingratitude of the Prime Minister and I told him so.
MK David Amslem reacts during the plenary session of the Knesset on December 19, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Amsalem’s comments were filmed by a reporter from the ultra-Orthodox news site Beyhadrei Hadrim and posted online,
Netanyahu was forced to put several Likud lawmakers on the backburner after handing over most top government posts to his coalition partners. While some did not receive any portfolio, others were given lesser positions or forced to share jobs by rotation.
Netanyahu was also seen as rewarding those who had been most loyal to him over the years and trying to undermine those who might challenge his authority in the party.
Amsalem was one of Netanyahu’s most loyal supporters and one of the loudest voices to question the motivation behind the corruption charges against him, but two clashed many times over the last year.
Netanyahu’s son Yair responded to Amslem on Twitter, writing: “And it is well known that Emir Ohana is Polish.” Ohana, who was appointed Knesset speaker instead of Amslem, is, like Amslem, the son of Moroccan immigrants.
Amslem, known to be a flamboyant man with a flamboyant style who often engaged in heckling from his Knesset seat and confrontational oratory from the podium, would have been an unorthodox choice for speaker, a position that would have given parliament Adds running – ensuring a great debate and upholding Knesset laws – representing it abroad, and filling in when the president is unavailable.
Amslem has often been accused of discrimination against Sephardic Jews. last year he got into a rare spot along with Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Huyt, accusing him and other judges of systematic discrimination. Hayut dismissed her claims as “poison”.
Historically, and still to a large extent, Ashkenazi Jews have populated Israel’s upper class, while Mizrahi Jews have been poor as a whole, with discriminatory policies from Israel’s early years to blame for the disparity. This pattern maps onto Israel’s electoral landscape, shaping the country’s politics.
