Yisrael Beiteinu chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman has publicly addressed his long-running rift with Shas chairman Aryeh Deri for the first time, saying the breakdown in their decades-long friendship resulted from personal matters rather than political disagreements.
In an interview with Kikar HaShabbat, Lieberman reflected on the end of what he described as a close friendship spanning many years.
"We were excellent friends," Lieberman said. "When you're a friend, you expect a friend to be a friend and not sell you out for a 'mess of pottage,' and not look for personal interests. Friendship comes before everything else. It has nothing to do with politics. It's on a personal level. Friendship is above everything."
Lieberman emphasized that the split between the two veteran politicians was not driven by ideological differences or coalition dynamics, but by what he characterized as a serious personal betrayal.
"When I don't have expectations of someone, I don't have a problem with them," He said. "Here, he was a close friend - you know, for decades. Something happened that has nothing to do with politics. These are personal matters, period. The moment the value of friendship is damaged, it's very difficult to move forward."
Lieberman did not disclose the specific incident that caused the rupture. His public comments represent the first time he has explicitly characterized the dispute as a personal conflict rather than a political one, highlighting the severity of the divide between the two former allies.