Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett sent a cease-and-desist letter through his lawyer to Religious Zionist Party Chairman Yehuda Wald on Monday after he claimed that Eyal Waldman is expected to be the No. 2 in Bennett’s new party.
בפעם הבאה שתיראו איזה פוסט מרגש של נפתלי עם חיילים תיזכרו שהמספר 2 שלו במפלגה העתידית חושב גם היום שהסרבנות הייתה הדבר הנכון. pic.twitter.com/bwRitBrFq7
— יהודה ולד (@yehodavald) November 24, 2024
Wald posted to X a photo of the two sitting in a car captioned, “The next time you see some exciting post by Naftali with soldiers, remember that his number 2 in the future party still thinks today that the refusal was the right thing.”
In response to the tweet, Bennett’s lawyer, Oded Gazit, sent Wald a letter of warning before filing a lawsuit, claiming that it was “a false publication presented as a fact in an attempt to harm Bennett’s status, and with deliberate intent.”
He also demanded that Wald remove the tweet and immediately publish a clarification in which he would retract his false claim.
Doesn’t it bother you?
In response to the letter, Wald wrote on X, “Doesn’t it bother you that Waldman supports refusal? Doesn’t it bother you that Waldman belittles the article that said ‘with the help of God’? Doesn’t it bother you that Waldman threatens to leave the country during a war?”
לא מפריע לך שולדמן תומך בסרבנות?לא מפריע לך שולדמן מזלזל בכתבת שאמרה “בעזרת ה'”?לא מפריע לך שולדמן מאיים לעזוב את המדינה בעת מלחמה?מה שמפריע לך שאמרתי שולדמן מס’ 2 שלך אז אתה הולך מאיים ומנסה להשתיק אותי בתביעת דיבה. אז אני לא יודע אם ולדמן יהיה מספר 2 שלך או לא,אני כן… pic.twitter.com/4E5GMy47qn
— יהודה ולד (@yehodavald) November 25, 2024
“What bothers you is that I said that Waldman is your No. 2, so you’re going to threaten and try to silence me with a defamation lawsuit. So I don’t know if Waldman will be your No. 2 or not, I do know that while my friends and I have been in the reserves for hundreds of days fighting in the north and south, both Waldman and you, Naftali, have not denied the cooperation between you. Show me who your friends, who encourage the refusal, are, and I’ll show you who you are. And that’s the whole story.”
In an interview Waldman gave on Friday to the Maariv podcast with Mickey Levin and Maor Bruchman, Waldman was asked if he was working with Bennett.
“Who did you hear that from? Rumors,” Waldman replied. “Bennett and I have met quite a few times, spent the weekend in Monaco, and donated 1.7 million euros to a Jewish organization, and I am proud of that. Bennett is suitable to replace Netanyahu even though we see things differently.”
