Dr. Iddo Netanyahu, brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sharply criticized several Israeli institutions, alluding to their left-wing nature and the failure of former prime minister Menachem Begin to conduct political purges after being elected in 1977 during a cultural event in Beersheba on Saturday.
Iddo Netanyahu hailed October 7 as the turning point in Israeli consciousness away from a two-state solution, saying, "This is a historic period, changing the state of the nation since we encountered that terrible day of October 7. It has changed our perception and that of the world."
"The vast majority has been disillusioned by the fantasy that two states for two peoples will bring peace. Only a minority is still discussing it. People are catching on, finally the vast majority of the public understands what the Arabs want – our destruction, our elimination."
He blamed Zionist leadership for painting a "rosy picture" of Arab views of Israel and Zionism and said that the intifadas and the Oslo Accords should have been a wake-up call.
"We must not give up our minimal control between the sea and the Jordan – including military control of the Gaza Strip as long as there is a hostile population there," he told the audience in reference to the historical Likud campaign slogan of 1977, which was later coopted by anti-Zionist groups.
Attacking several Israeli institutions for being 'leftist'
Iddo Netanyahu then turned to attack several major Israeli institutions for restricting Benjamin Netanyahu's ability to implement policy.
He attacked the Supreme Court and the Attorney General's Office for collaborating against his brother, calling them "barbarians" who cannot be permitted to rule the country.
He also claimed that the Israeli bureaucracy was a leftist institution backed by and collaborating with the Supreme Court to oust his brother.
He blamed the existence on Likud's first prime minister, Menachem Begin, for not firing the leftists when he was elected in 1977.
Iddo Netanyahu claimed that this set a bad precedent and cited how, in the US, Presidents can do whatever they want.
Iddo Netanyahu's claims are part of an ongoing series of claims from various members of the Netanyahu family that they are being persecuted by the "leftist deep state."
In America and in Israel, when a strong right wing leader wins an election, the leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people's will. They won't win in either place! We stand strong together.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 19, 2025
Most recently, Benjamin Netanyahu posted to X on Thursday saying that "the leftist Deep State weaponized the justice system to thwart the people's will."
Benjamin Netanyahu's son Yair has also regularly spoken about a "leftist deep state" conspiracy that was attempting to oust his father from power.
This is coming against the backdrop of multiple legal cases against Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his office, including the numerous corruption allegations and the most recent investigation of his employees for their involvement in the "Qatargate" scandal in which they were reportedly receiving payments from Qatar while working for the prime minister.
The most recent investigation led Benjamin Netanyahu to push to fire Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), a move which Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara blocked as being a conflict of interest.
