Can he do it?
Liberman: I am the Perfect Person to be Israel's Next Prime Minister
Chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, MK Avigdor Lieberman opens up about the document he submitted in 2016 that predicted October 7, how they blocked his joining the war cabinet, life alongside a wife and daughter who became religious (baalot teshuva), and his future plans,
Chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, MK Avigdor Liberman, arrived at the Srugim studio for an in-depth interview on the program “Iron Kipot” hosted by Natanel Isaak.
In an open conversation, the former Defense Minister and Finance Minister laid out his full security doctrine, addressed the burning issue of conscription, and explained why he is convinced that he is the right person to lead the State of Israel at this time.
At the start of the interview, Liberman addressed the conscription law and stressed that the security reality demands a dramatic change of approach compared to the law he himself submitted in 2019. “The conscription law must be a function of the needs of the defense establishment,” Lieberman said. “Unfortunately, after October 7 the needs have completely changed. In fact, they have doubled… Even today, after the total victory, all fronts remain open.”Lieberman detailed the threats: “You have an open Gaza, of course Hezbollah in Lebanon is growing stronger… Iran is getting stronger… we haven’t finished with the Houthis, and Judea and Samaria are boiling over.”
In his view, the only solution is conscription for everyone:
“Our approach is very simple… Every 18-year-old reports to the induction center (Bakum). The army decides whom it wants in a military track; everyone else goes to a national-civilian service track. A young man from Tel Aviv, a young man from Bnei Brak, and a young man from Umm al-Fahm, everyone.”
Regarding the claim that there is a contradiction between Torah study and military service, he said:
“This whole artificial attempt to find a contradiction between Torah study and military service is simply a lie and falsehood. All the greatest Jewish leaders were warriors, King David, Joshua bin Nun, and Moses our teacher… Even Maimonides writes that in a milchemet mitzvah (obligatory war), even a groom leaves his chamber and a bride leaves her wedding canopy.”
“Netanyahu and Smotrich thought Hamas was an asset”
Lieberman returned to the document he wrote as Defense Minister in 2016, in which he predicted with chilling accuracy the nightmare scenario of October 7. “I warned on December 21, 2016, I put down a detailed paper, I gave the entire scenario and described how a Nukhba force could invade the State of Israel, conquer communities, take hostages… and I even set a date, the end of 2022. I was wrong by one year, I didn’t take Covid into account.”
When asked why the disaster happened despite the warnings, Lieberman pointed an accusing finger at the political echelon:
“Both Netanyahu and Smotrich thought in terms of ‘Hamas is an asset’ because it serves as a counterweight to the Palestinian Authority… and prevents a Palestinian state… and Netanyahu is the one who repeatedly prevented any attempt to take out Hamas leaders.”
He added that Netanyahu himself knew the document well:
“In April 2017 he appeared before the State Control Committee in the Knesset and in his own voice… repeated that same paper and everything I detailed… He cannot say that no one pulled him by the lapels.”
Regarding a state commission of inquiry:
“What we see now with the commission of inquiry he wants, he wants a whitewash committee that will clear the political echelon and put all the blame on the IDF and the defense establishment.”
“Netanyahu did not invite me to the emergency government”
Lieberman revealed the sequence of events that prevented him from joining the government after October 7:
“Netanyahu decided to form an emergency government and a war cabinet. He invited Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, and Gadi Eisenkot. He didn’t invite me.”Later, when Shas chairman Aryeh Deri approached him, Lieberman set one clear condition:
“I said I’m willing to join, but I want to know that I will also sit in the war cabinet… If I’m not a member of the war cabinet, the forum where decisions are actually get made, there’s no point in my joining. He (Netanyahu) refused… and that’s how it ended.”
“My wife became religious, my daughter is religious, we get along wonderfully”
On a personal note, Lieberman shared about his life in the settlement of Nokdim and the changes in his family:
“I’m very happy that in my own family my daughter decided she wants to be religious, my wife became a baalat teshuva, and I have no problem with that at all. We get along wonderfully at home.”He described the daily routine:
“So in the morning I go play tennis, she goes to synagogue. We come back, make Kiddush, read the weekly Torah portion together at home. I only eat kosher… It’s possible to live together. We don’t have to have this polarization.”“
As Finance Minister I closed a deficit of 144 billion shekels
”As a former Finance Minister, Lieberman sharply criticized the current economic management while comparing it to his own achievements:
“When I entered the Finance Ministry the deficit was 144 billion shekels. When I left the Finance Ministry I left a surplus in the treasury… Everything begins and ends with management.”
At the end of the interview, Lieberman stated unequivocally:
“I have only one position left. I am certain that I will have the opportunity here to become Prime Minister after all the positions I’ve already held… I think that in terms of track record, experience, and abilities, in this period there is simply no one better than me who is capable of dealing with the whole range of problems and challenges facing the State of Israel.”