With the Knesset dissolved and another election underway, Minister of Regional Cooperation Issawi Freij of Meretz announced July 5 that he will not be running in the next election. His statement on Facebook read, “After much thought and consultations with my family and partners, I announced wholeheartedly that I have decided to take a break from the Knesset, though not from public life.” He continued, “I have informed Prime Minister Yair Lapid — a leader, a friend and a partner — of my decision.”
Sharp-eyed observers noticed that Freij’s post was missing an important name: none other than Minister of Health Nitzan Horowitz, leader of Meretz. It could have been another salvo in the attack Freij launched against Horowitz in an interview with N12 News, in which he called on Horowitz to step down as party leader and make do with being a regular member of Knesset.