Miriam Peretz: Son Will Leave Knesset If Arab Parties Join Government

Israel Prize laureate Miriam Peretz stated on Thursday that her son, Elisaf Peretz, a newly sworn-in Member of Knesset for Gadi Eisenkot's "Yisrael Beiteinu" party, would resign if Arab parties join the government. "If his party sits with an Arab party, he is leaving the Knesset, he said that," she stated in an interview with Kol Barama.

Peretz, who was previously a presidential candidate, described the intense pressure her son has faced since joining the Knesset. "The pressure has been applied from day one," she said, adding, "Certainly these days, very, very great pressures. I cannot detail anything, but I can say that they are writing to both me and him, and acting in various ways. I want to keep things private, one day things will be revealed."

She expressed confidence in her son's adherence to national values, stating, "If difficult fundamental questions arise that clash with his values, I believe my son Elisaf knows well the path of our people. He grew up on the values of this path, and I am sure because he does not represent only himself, he also represents our family."

Peretz distinguished between relying on Arab parties from the outside and having them as part of the government. "Even in previous governments, including Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's, there was reliance on Arabs from the outside for laws like national insurance and the like. I am talking about something else. I am talking about sitting in the government, with an Arab party that will decide for me whether to defend this home, whether to go to war, whether to give IDF soldiers what they need to be given. That will not happen," she declared.

She reiterated the pressure, noting that it is not necessarily a push for him to join the Likud party, but rather to oppose a government supported by Arab parties. "Because he is the one elected, not me, I can only tell you what my position is," she clarified.