Following the interview with Zelekha: Criticism of Netanyahu from within the government

Did Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believe in real time that the judicial reform led by Justice Minister Yariv Levin was complicating things for him? In a special interview given last weekend to C14, the chairman of the Economic Party, Prof. Yaron Zelekha, revealed details from a lengthy meeting he held, according to him, with Netanyahu on the eve of the October 7 war – including a particularly unusual statement attributed to the Prime Minister.

Zelekha said that he met with Netanyahu for a conversation that lasted about three hours. According to him, during the meeting, the judicial reform that the Justice Minister was promoting in those days also came up. According to Zelekha, Netanyahu referred to Levin and told him:

"He is complicating things for me with the reform."

Following these remarks, we contacted sources in the Prime Minister's circle in an attempt to clarify whether Netanyahu indeed held the position at that time that the move led by Levin was complicating things for him, and whether the words attributed to him by Zelekha were indeed said.

Despite several inquiries on our part, the Prime Minister's Office found it difficult to reject the claim presented by Zelekha and did not provide us with an unequivocal denial. We emphasize that at this stage, this is Zelekha's version of what was said in a closed meeting, and we do not have independent verification of the content of the conversation.

In Levin's circle they say: "He did not receive the backing he needed"

In the circle of Justice Minister Yariv Levin, they are also following the remarks. Sources in the minister's circle who spoke with C14 claimed that if Zelekha's version indeed reflects what was said in the room, then for them it is further evidence of the difficulty Levin had in receiving the political backing he needed to promote the reform.

According to those sources, throughout the way, Levin had to deal with difficulties not only outside the coalition, but also from within it. According to them, if the Prime Minister himself believed at some point that Levin was "complicating" things for him through the reform, this may strengthen the claim that the Justice Minister did not enjoy full backing for the move – not from the government as a whole, and apparently also not from Netanyahu himself.