Health Minister Yaakov Litzman slammed Blue and White leader Yair Lapid on Thursday for comparing Education Minister and Yamina leader Rabbi Rafi Peretz to Joint Arab List MK Heba Yazbak (Balad).

Yazbak was recently disqualified for running in the upcoming elections by the Central Election Committee for her support of terrorists. [However, the decision was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court.]

“It seems like Yair Lapid, the man who practically invented discriminating against others, hasn’t changed his ways from 2013 when he boycotted a coalition with Chareidim simply because they have beards and payos,” Litzman said.

“Now he’ll take care of the national-religious with the same methods, with an outrageous comparison between Harav Rafi Peretz, an exemplary person, a Yirei Shamayim and a man of action (who also was a combat soldier and an IDF brigadier general, contrary to Lapid who didn’t serve in the IDF) to a sworn supporter of terror.”

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Lapid said in a recent interview that since Rabbi Peretz formed a political alliance with Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir (which was subsequently dissolved), he has removed himself from political legitimacy, due to the fact that Ben-Gvir has a picture in his home of Baruch Goldstein [who opened fire on a group of Arabs in Me’aras Hamachpeila in 1994, killing 29 and wounding over 100].

Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett also slammed Lapid for comparing Peretz, a former senior IDF official and chief IDF rabbi to a terror supporter.

“Lapid, you should be ashamed,” wrote Bennett. “You compare a IDF combat helicopter pilot, an IDF brigadier-general, who taught generations of soldiers in a preparatory military academy, who was evicted from his home in Gush Katif and established a community in the Negev on the Egyptian border, to an evil supporter of terror? Shame on you.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)