Bayit Yehudi seeks Public Security portfolio for Shaked

"Shaked will look at reality in the eyes, more than any of the 'security figures'...who surrender and are defeated by terrorism time after time," Bennett said.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Ayelet Shaked (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST,MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Ayelet Shaked
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST,MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Bayit Yehudi will condition its entrance to a coalition on MK Ayelet Shaked becoming public security minister, the party said Sunday.
“Public Security Minister Ayelet Shaked will protect your security and that of your children. You’ll thank the Bayit Yehudi for that; I’m speaking from experience,” party leader Naftali Bennett wrote on Facebook.
Economy Minister Bennett listed reasons he thinks Shaked is appropriate for the role, including her bill to require a referendum on concessions of sovereign land; legislation that would not allow terrorists to be released as part of diplomatic negotiations unless they have been in prison for at least 40 years; and her activism against illegal immigration into Israel.
Shaked “fought the unapologetic right-wing fight throughout her life. She is the person in the Knesset who is most worthy to have this important job,” he wrote.
According to Bennett, “Shaked, as public security minister, will truly fight the infiltrators, stop the irresponsible concept of using cement blocks in Jerusalem [as a response to vehicular terrorist attacks], will stop the terrorists’ sleep-away camp in prison, will bring back sovereignty to the Negev and the Galilee, will stop the Islamic Movement’s incitement, and, in short, will bring back the personal security of every one of us to the streets.”
“Mainly, Shaked will look at reality in the eyes, more than any of the ‘security figures’… who surrender and are defeated by terrorism time after time,” he asserted.
A senior Bayit Yehudi source said Shaked “is a right-wing, nationalist symbol… she gets to the bottom line, is practical and clean, and she’s a woman, which is important,” referring to the sexual harassment scandals roiling the police in recent months.
Yesh Atid MK and former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yaakov Peri was less enthusiastic of the prospect of having Shaked be the minister responsible for police and prisons.
“The jobs that [Yisrael Beytenu leader Foreign Minister Avigdor] Liberman and Shaked are going to demand scare me,” Peri said after Bayit Yehudi’s announcement and Liberman’s statements that he will ask for the Defense portfolio.
Peri told Radio 103fm that he thinks it would be reckless to have Shaked “determine the internal security policy of the State of Israel, and I’m not talking about the difficult moral situation it’s facing today, but about fighting terrorism and bolstering our power.
“The woman lacks experience, but that is less important,” Peri added. “[The ministry] determines our fate in Israel and requires better judgment.”
Bennett slammed Peri on his Facebook page, writing that the former Yesh Atid minister’s statement that “the woman lacks experience” is blatantly sexist.
“There is no doubt, Mr. Peri, that you understand strategy and you have good judgment. After all, you’re a manly man, unlike Ayelet Shaked… and the leader of your party brings a lot of experience with him, unlike Ayelet Shaked, of course,” Bennett mockingly wrote.
Bennett expressed incredulity that Peri would doubt Shaked’s judgment, when he called to evacuate the Golan and to evacuate settlements during the second intifada.
“You’re talking about good judgment? You?” Bennett asked. “You, who support establishing a Palestinian state (unfortunately, like every party in the Knesset except for Bayit Yehudi), are talking about judgment? How many more missiles have to land here before you realize that is a dangerous, delusional idea? You, who supported releasing terrorists time after time, are talking about good judgment on Israel’s public security?”