Netanyahu’s overthrow compared to collapse of global right

The tweet comparing the overthrow of Netanyahu to the collapse of the global right-wing movement was shared hundreds of times on Twitter, including by the prime minister himself. 

By Tobias Siegal, World Israel News 

Yemina MK Amichai Chikli compared the overthrow of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the collapse of the global right-wing movement last week, in a tweet that was later shared by Netanyahu’s official Twitter account.

“It begins, overthrowing Netanyahu’s conservative government in favor of a progressive one with left-wing parties at its center will lead to celebrations in Iran, Ramallah, Washington, the EU and The Hauge,” Chikli wrote.

Chikli’s tweet did not go unnoticed, with notable politicians, including Netanyahu himself, retweeting the post, which has since been shared hundreds of times.

Previously unknown, Chikli made headlines last month when he stated that he would not join a coalition with leftist or Arab parties amid talks of a unity government between Yemina and the left-wing Yesh Atid party. “Let there be no misunderstandings,” he wrote at the time, “I will vote against forming a government with the Joint List and Meretz, just as we promised our voters.”

As negotiations toward a unity government progressed, Chikli, number 5 on Yemina’s list at the time, defected from Bennett’s party.

In a podcast published Thursday, Chikli explained his tweet by noting that “Netanyahu has become an icon of the global right” and that “executing Netanyahu is a global event.”

He continued by warning of the lasting effects of the political shift in Israel. “The whole world will talk about this, it will affect how Israel is perceived around the world from now on,” he argued.

“This will weaken the Republican party in the U.S. and all right-wing parties in the world,” he concluded.

Chikli’s opposition to a unity government with Yesh Atid was shared by other MKs from his party. MK Nir Orbach from Yemina has also suggested that he may oppose the forming of a unity government, which could doom its chances of being approved by the Knesset, with a mere 61-59 majority.

A group of notable Israeli rabbis recently issued a letter urging their followers to oppose a unity government and warning that such a government would harm Israel’s security. “We must do everything to prevent this government from forming,” the letter read.