28 July 2023; MEMO: Former Mossad director Tamir Pardo has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of dismantling the army and the Mossad and "splitting the nation into two".
In an interview with Kan radio, Pardo said Netanyahu's government includes "horrible racist parties" including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit.
He warned that Netanyahu's allies are "a lot worse" than the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), referencing calls by lawmakers for Israel to destroy the West Bank Palestinian town of Huwara.
"The nation is breaking into two and it doesn't move [Netanyahu], he doesn't blink, and a second after the vote finished, the look of happiness on the faces of MKs was a horrible thing in my eyes," he said, in reference to the Knesset vote on Monday approving the "reasonableness law", which limits judicial reviews of governmental and ministerial decisions.
"Someone took the Ku Klux Klan and brought it into the government, and this is what happened," he said, adding that the fact that Netanyahu placed Smotrich as a minister within the Defence Ministry proves that their views on the future of Israel are similar.
The former Mossad chief also criticised the government for passing laws that are reminiscent of "antisemitic laws," passed in Europe during the 1930s. He argued that if similar legislation were passed in any other country, it would be widely condemned for promoting discrimination and racism against certain groups.
One of the recent controversial laws is the expansion of the Admissions Committees Law, allowing small Jewish communities to reject applicants they consider "unsuitable". Rights organisations, including Adalah, have condemned it as racist, raising concerns about further discrimination against marginalised communities.
He said reports that doctors were looking to relocate and leave Israel were "more horrifying and scary than the story of the army" reservists who have refused service.
Pardon warned that Israel is in danger of losing its status as a prosperous country. "If we lose hi-tech, the doctors, the academia, we won't have a country anymore," or at least, he later clarified, Israel will become a third-world country. The comment was made in reference to many high-tech firms that have threatened to leave if the controversial judicial overhaul is carried out.
