The Israeli Electric Company slammed Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday for comparing the monopoly firm to an infamous Nazi battleship when describing his view of its policies in Israel, forcing him to apologize, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Wednesday.
When asked by reporters days earlier if the government-owned company was the “next flagship that stands before privatization,” Netanyahu answered: “It may not be a ship, but rather the massive battleship The Bismarck, and we are hot on its trail.”
The Bismarck was more than 240 meters (800 feet) long, nearly 37 meters (120 feet) wide and had the biggest guns mounted on any German warship. Nazi sailors on board used it to kill hundreds of Allied troops in World War II before it was sunk by British naval and air forces in 1941.
The firm’s Workers Secretariat blasted Netanyahu, saying: “The employees are stunned that a week after Holocaust Day, when Israel and the entire world condemned anti-Semitism, the finance minister expresses anti-Semitism towards dedicated workers in a way that would have shamed the worst haters of Israel.”
Netanyahu’s office later issued an apology for his comments.
“He did not mean, of course, to hurt anyone’s feelings,” said his media adviser, Amir Galit. “There is no doubt that the finance minister is very sensitive to the subject of the Holocaust and if anyone was offended by what he said, he apologizes for it.”
Verbal slip-ups
The Electric Company's National Workers Union head, David Tsarfati, said verbal slip-ups by Netanyahu were an all-too common occurrence.
“As the son of Holocaust survivors and an Israeli citizen, I cannot live with the feeling that I am the captain of a Nazi warship,” he said. “The finance minister’s slips of the mouth have become the norm, and I suggest he stop his arrogant and pretentious behavior towards the citizens of Israel immediately.”
Israel’s Histadrut Labor Union federation suggested Netanyahu “open up a history book and refresh his memory.”
The Electric Company controls all of Israel’s electric capabilities and has been accused by many of corruption and rapped for allegedly supplying thousands of workers with free or discounted electricity.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday he would continue to push for reforms within the company in order to “knock down its prices and improve its services to millions of Israeli citizens.”
Netanyahu served as Israel's prime minister from 1996 before he was ousted by then-Labor party head Ehud Barak in a 1999 election.
