Israel’s incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused the New York Times of “demonizing Israel for decades” in response to an editorial that criticizes his coalition government.
The op-ed titled “The ideal of democracy in a Jewish state is in jeopardy” published on Saturday stated that the next right-wing government led by Netanyahu puts Israeli democracy at risk.
"The Israel we knew is no more," the editorial said, suggesting that "ultra-religious and ultra-nationalist" parties, which make up the new coalition, "endanger the ideal of a Jewish and democratic state" and that "Netanyahu's government poses a significant threat to the future of Israel."
The prime minister-designate responded by vowing to continue ignoring “the ill-founded advice” of the newspaper.
“After burying the Holocaust for years on its back pages and demonizing Israel for decades on its front pages, the New York Times now shamefully calls for undermining Israel’s elected incoming government,” Netanyahu tweeted.
“While the NYT continues to delegitimize the one true democracy in the Middle East and America’s best ally in the region, I will continue to ignore its ill-founded advice and instead focus on building a stronger and more prosperous country, strengthening ties with America, expanding peace with our neighbors, and securing the future of the one and only Jewish state,” he added.
The op-ed specifically warned about one of Netanyahu’s far-right allies - leader of the Otzma Yehudit party Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying that his actions “risk provoking a new round of Arab-Israeli violence.” Netanyahu’s bloc has been pushing for several controversial bills to be approved by the Knesset before the new government is sworn in that will among other things expand Ben-Gvir’s authority as the future national security minister over the police force.
The deadline for the formation of the coalition government set by Israel’s President Isaac Herzog expires on Wednesday with Netanyahu having to fulfill his promises to his partners to make it happen.