Opposition leader MK Tzipi Livni slammed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, calling him a “coward” and telling him to “be a man.” Defense Minister Ehud Barak found himself under fire as well. Livni criticized the two after Netanyahu spoke about his government's first weeks in office, praising the coalition for its fast response to the economic crisis. Netanyahu also said he was satisfied with the results of his recent meeting in Washington with United States President Barack Obama, and reported that Israel and the U.S. “see eye to eye” on important issues. Livni took exception to Netanyahu's portrayal of U.S.-Israel relations, and in a speech that followed Netanyahu's took him to task for rejecting Palestinian Authority demands. “You went to the U.S. as a refusenik, at best. When you say 'no' to the right of return, nobody listens to you. And they shouldn't,” she told him. The phrase “right of return” refers to the Arab demand that millions of Arabs whose parents, grandparents or greatgrandparents fled Israel during the War of Independence be allowed to “return” and reside in the areas in which their families once dwelled. "When you stutter and try to come up with the right phrasing and to escape the issues, people understand that you're just trying to survive,” Livni continued. “The entire world, including Israel, wants to know what your vision is.” Livni mocked Barak, who opposes a government plan to tax fresh produce. “You don't have to give Barak anything, he won't leave the coalition in any case,” she told Netanyahu. Returning to her criticism of Netanyahu, Livni said, "Regarding the produce tax, be a man and give in. You always fold in the end, even when you try not to.” Following critical speeches from Livni and her fellow Kadima MK Shaul Mofaz, Likud member Yuval Steinitz accused the Kadima-led opposition of “wanting to hide the full truth from the public.” The truth is that the government's budget will create economic growth and benefit Israel's citizens, he said.
