Livni, Herzog slam Netanyahu over latest political maneuver

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni has called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political coward for his plans to call early general elections and form a new coalition with the ultra-Orthodox parties and Bayit Yehudi.

The move comes following a row over Livni's bill to grant all city rabbis power to convert people to Judaism. "Bibi succumbed to his fears and succumbed to the ultra-Orthodox," Livni said. 

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog of Labor told Ynet that, "At a time when Israel's citizens are being crushed by the cost of living and housing prices, Netanyahu is only concerned with his personal survival."