As the year’s traffic death toll in Israel neared 400, a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Miri Regev appeared to make light of the number of people killed on Wednesday.
In a Wednesday video of Regev's arrival at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, she can be seen making her way through the courthouse as two people confront her, asking for a comment on the number of road deaths.
While she refused to acknowledge the question, one of her spokespeople seemed to joke about the number of dead.
In the video, as the interviewer asks for Regev’s reaction to the death toll reaching 400 people this year, spokesman Dudu Sassi jokingly responds with the number “399” and laughs.
“Are you serious?” the interviewer is heard responding, followed by Sassi attempting to bring up a statistic, when he’s interrupted by the questioner. “Why doesn’t the minister answer the public?” she asks, as Regev leaves the room.
Minister Regev's priorities questioned as traffic deaths rise
Regev, who has been in her post since 2022, has seen a sharp rise in traffic deaths during her term. According to statistics from the National Road Safety Authority, in 2023, 361 people were killed. In 2024, that figure rose to 436 people.
While similar numbers were recorded in the early 2000s, the death toll dipped to 305 in 2020 when she began her first stint as Transportation Minister.
On X/Twitter, Israelis reacted negatively to Regev’s decision to attend the prime minister’s trial.
Channel 13’s legal correspondent Aviad Glickman commented that “400 killed in road accidents and Minister [Miri Regev] has time to come to the Netanyahu trial.” Another user described her act as “insulting,” referencing expensive prices and “public transport not working.”
Regev, who served in her role from May 2020 to June 2021 and has been in her role continuously since December 2022, has recently come under fire following a May 2024 Channel 13 report alleging corruption, which led to a raid on her offices the next month.
Regev denies the allegations.