National Security Minister responds to opposition leader’s criticism, says he is still working at 2 AM, then comes in to work again at 7 AM.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the criticism leveled at him by opposition leader Yair Lapid in the Knesset plenum, when he claimed that Ben-Gvir is not living up to his promise to fight violence and crime.
Ben-Gvir replied: “[My predecessor] Omer Barlev neglected national security during his term, left non-functioning police stations, thousands of police officers who retired because of the bad conditions, protection rackets in the north, crime and violence in the south, zero police presence and Jewish children who are afraid to go to the Western Wall because they will have stones and Mototov Cocktails thrown at them, just because they are Jewish.”
“I didn’t come to put a Band-Aid [over the problems] and to put on the shows that the previous government made. I came to lead a change and a deep change from the root [of the problems]. I don’t kid myself that it will take a day or two. It will take time, but with G-d’s help we have begun to lead and initiate processes and with G-d’s help we will bring about this change.
Ben-Gvir claimed that Lapid “would come to the office at 11 in the morning and leave as early as 4, so he shouldn’t preach to us about hard work. Just last night I finished a discussion with the Commissioner at 2 in the morning and this morning at 7, I was already in the office. This is my office’s schedule six days a week since we entered the office, because you didn’t leave us many choices other than to make an effort and work hard to repair the damage you left.”
Lapid had earlier claimed that Ben-Gvir was not qualified for the position of National Security Minister.: “I have a question for the plenum: Where is Ben-Gvir? Six wounded in four shooting incidents in Lod. Where is he? Before the elections we know what would have happened. After five minutes he would be there. Instagram, Tiktok, interviews on all channels, assuring us that such things will not happen with him. He would have taken care of it in a day,” Lapid began.
He mentioned that “in Pisgat Ze’ev a girl was hit by a stray shot. A child. Seven and a half years old. She was sitting at home, a shot was fired into her home. I leave it to you to imagine the series of photographs of Ben-Gvir with such a girl before the elections. Now the minister has disappeared. Yesterday in the Eshkol regional council , near Sdei Avraham, a 17-year-old girl was caught on tape being followed by someone suspicious. Security personnel jumped, she escaped at the last minute. We know what Ben-Gvir would have done before the elections after a story like this. His Instagram would have exploded. The medical teams are on strike today because of the violence towards them. Time after time, they are attacked again, beaten again. Doctors and nurses who save lives feel that there is no one to protect them.”
“This is the harvest of one weekend. What happened to the regular round of interviews? Channel 12, 13, 14, Ynet, Walla … waving his gun, assuring everyone that after a week he’d have taken care of everything? He would show them. We know exactly what he would say about the Internal Security Minister. So where is Ben-Gvir? Internal security is a serious matter. Dealing with violence is a serious matter. It is a blow against the state. Serious people should be dealing with it. Experts in the use of force, not experts in Instagram and Tiktok. Ben-Gvir made a career out of riding on the fears of citizens. The fears are justified, but in what world is the solution? In what world is the solution to violence in Israeli society a convicted criminal who has spent his entire career taking selfies, whose only experience in the police field is that he has been arrested countless times?”, Lapd asked.
“Perhaps it would be better for the government to appoint a real minister of internal security, so that Ben-Gvir can turn to the only thing he is good at: photographs and interviews, and then we won’t have to ask – where is Ben-Gvir,” concluded Lapid.
Source: Arutz 7