Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that a video of him attempting to speak English in 2023 has lowered his self-esteem, in an interview on the podcast In Yasmin's Living Room on Wednesday.
Smotrich gave the speech to the Israel Bonds organization in the United States in March 2023. After the speech, a video compilation of his English mistakes was spread on social media.
Since then, Smotrich has not given another public speech in English.
"I should have immediately given another speech in English," he admitted during the interview. "Like someone who causes a traffic accident and they tell him, 'Come on, get right back behind the wheel.'"
Smotrich added that, after the speech, he tried to turn the fact that he didn't speak in English into an ideal of his. "I said, ok, so a Jew speaks in Hebrew."
Smotrich stated he can now speak English
Smotrich emphasized that he can now speak English. "I speak English. Rest assured, I can have one-on-one conversations in English, understand, speak; everything is fine."
Smotrich had told the Knesset in June 2023 that he did not speak English, after giving the speech.
"I don't know English," he admitted at the time. "By the way, I studied a core curriculum. I did 5 units [of English] for my matriculation. I don't know English; laugh and make up your mind about me. Let's talk economics."
Walla and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.