Almog Cohen with a sharp jab at the left bloc: "The most racist animal in nature"

Deputy Minister Almog Cohen attacked the left bloc after the Joint List proposed cooperation to topple Netanyahu: "The Israeli left is the most racist animal in nature. They talk to everyone, but not to Arabs." According to Election Committee data, the right leads with 53 seats against 48 for the left, and without the 19 seats of the Arab parties the opposition has no path to a coalition.

Deputy Minister Almog Cohen sharply attacked the leaders of the left bloc, shortly after the Joint List announced its willingness to cooperate politically to bring down the right-wing government and Netanyahu. Cohen wrote that "the Israeli left (at least what remains of it) is the most racist animal in nature. They talk to everyone, but not to Arabs," adding sarcastically: "After all, sitting with supporters of the Hamas charity organisation, no big deal." The Joint List's statement, published minutes earlier, offered "political cooperation to establish an alternative government" and set a demand for "recognition of the rights of the Arab public and an end to the exclusion of it and its representatives from the political system." The List took pride in its electoral achievement and the votes it drew from the Jewish left. According to Central Election Committee data cited in the article, the right and the Netanyahu-led coalition lead with 53 seats, while the left bloc holds 48. Without the 19 seats of the Arab parties — the Joint List with 12 seats and Ra'am with 7 — the opposition has no possibility of forming a coalition. The article notes that the developments hold up a mirror to Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman.