Ronen Tzur lashes out at left-wing critics after joining the Democrats

Ronen Tzur, who recently announced his return to politics and his entry into the Democrats party, said on Tuesday that he is facing a fierce online backlash and decided to answer his critics publicly. In a lengthy post, he accused what he called the “very extreme left” of attacking his candidacy and warned that if the party becomes a home for political fringe figures, many others, including him, will have no place in it.

Tzur said he had spent years representing companies and organizations as a lawyer and accountant, but had never “extorted donors,” collected money for terrorists, or “cuddled up” with supporters of the October 7 massacre. He wrote that he joined the Democrats because he knows how to defeat what he called the “poison machine” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that he had done so before through his “victory machine” and while leading efforts for the release of hostages against what he described as a hostile and malicious government.

He also attacked critics for not helping when he founded the Hostages Headquarters and the “victory machine,” saying they now only come to smear him. Tzur specifically mentioned readers and writers at Haaretz, accusing them of always finding something bad to say about people who fight and pay a price in the struggle against Netanyahu’s camp.

Tzur said he would run in order to win, and for the bloc and the Democrats to win as well. He acknowledged he is not perfect, but said his critics are entitled to be “self-righteous” and “extreme purists.” He concluded that the same approach had already caused losses in the past, and would again help Netanyahu if it continues.