Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Lieberman doesn't hate Haredim. He has no problem with their yeshivas, their budgets, or their lifestyle. Nor does he mind that they don't serve in the military, learn core subjects, or have a high birthrate.
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In his previous life, everyone actually thought he hated Arabs. The fact that he agreed to sit in a government with the Joint Arab List is proof he never meant a word of what he said. Lieberman never had a problem with their refusal to recognize Israel's Jewish character, their support for terrorism, or their opposition to peace with moderate Arab states.
How can it be that Lieberman, who has been in Israeli public life for decades, is okay using any means necessary to so blatantly and shamelessly change his skin? The reason is that he is a professional liar. All politicians must bend the truth to some extent to succeed. Many face criticism for it. Lawmakers, ministers, and political candidates are often confronted with their old statements on television news, and they are often embarrassed when they are exposed for having once said the exact opposite of what they now say today.
Not Lieberman. Lieberman will not be embarrassed because lying is his profession. It was just 12 years ago that Lieberman led the demand for a change to the legal system. When he entered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, he demanded all the relevant files, from public security to the constitution committee. He also demanded Yaakov Neeman, a man hated by the system, be appointed justice minister. When then-senior Likud officials Benny Begin, Dan Meridor, and Miki Eitan prevented him from advancing changes he sought in the field, he insulted them and accused them of nitpicking.
Who would have believed that in just over a decade, Lieberman would himself become a nitpicker? He obviously never believed a word he said to begin with.
The Haredi parties understand this reality better than anyone. For decades, they worked shoulder to shoulder with Lieberman in several governments and countless arenas. Together, they cut deals and promoted various moves. To carry out his plans, Lieberman forged the kind of connections that allowed him access to important rabbis and could often be seen in the offices of Haredi ministers. Lieberman may be able to defraud the seven Knesset seats' worth of voters that support his party, but he won't fool Haredi lawmakers Aryeh Deri, Yaakov Litzman, or Moshe Gafni.
But the goods Lieberman is selling have lost their luster. From one election campaign to the next, Lieberman must become more radical and ramp up his provocations, and in other words, offer ever more incredulous lies to the point where there's no one left to believe him.
Lieberman's assertion that he would put the Haredim and Netanyahu in a wheelbarrow and throw them in a landfill is proof that beyond the culture of lies he has developed, Lieberman is positioning himself as a lowly political troll and the ultimate agent of chaos in Israeli politics.
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