Blue and White negotiator: Left-wing attacks worse than from the Right

“As someone who has also experienced personal attacks from the Right, I inform you that the brutality of the Left far exceeds that of the Right,” wrote Haim Ramon.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Former Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who is currently leading negotiations on behalf of the Blue and White party to prevent another round of elections, said that he’s been subjected to a stream of abuse from extreme left-wing activists.

Although Ramon has long been associated with left-wing causes, having served in the Knesset as a member of the Labor party, his willingness to negotiate with the Likud party displeased the Black Flags protest group, he said.

“I had an amusing day today,” Ramon tweeted. “Thousands of thugs and bots from the Black Flags organization attacked my cell phone.”

“Abusive swearing and verbal violence of the worst kind. All this in the name of ‘the fight for democracy’ of course.”

“As someone who has also experienced personal attacks from the Right, I inform you that the brutality of the Left far exceeds that of the Right,” he wrote.

The Black Flags group has protested against Netanyahu on a weekly basis for the past six months.

As the Tuesday deadline for a national budget draws nearer, it appears that the group would prefer the country go to elections than see Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz compromise with Netanyahu.

The choice of Ramon as negotiator also sparked backlash within the Blue and White party.

The veteran politician resigned from the Knesset in 2007 after being convicted of indecent assault, which is considered to be a sexual offense in Israel.

Media reports from 2007 state that Ramon had forcibly kissed a young female soldier who asked to take a photo with him. Ramon was sentenced to community service and served no jail time.

Internal party communications leaked to Israel media revealed that MK Tehila Friedman of Blue and White wrote, “I must say that it hurt me to find out that a person convicted of a sex-related offense represents me and us in negotiations.”

Kan News reported on Monday morning that a potential deal to push back the budget deadline to January 5 was opposed by several members of Blue and White.