Eisenkot backs Elisaf Peretz amid coalition row as he calls out 'racist anti-Arab campaign'

Yashar chairman MK Gadi Eisenkot addressed the situation with Israel Prize laureate Miriam Peretz, the mother of Yashar MK Elisaf Peretz, who said that his son would leave the government if a coalition were formed with the Arab parties, and also addressed the current negotiations with the Arab sector."I have known the Peretz family personally and deeply for nearly 30 years. Sadly, I met them under painful and difficult circumstances twice, but I was blessed with a lifelong bond with a family that exemplifies love for the people and the land," Eisenkot said in a message shared before Shabbat."I embrace Miriam Peretz, and I trust Elisaf. I know he trusts me and the choices I make, and will continue to make. I am not troubled by that. What troubles me is the venomous and ugly campaign underway these days, which includes thousands of harsh and offensive messages to some Yashar Knesset members and their families," he added.He also said that "if someone has a problem with the path I am charting, I am the person to address. Anyone who thinks that various emissaries and poison will deter us probably does not know us well enough."The comments came after Peretz said, "If my son's party sits with an Arab party, he will leave the Knesset.