Smotrich warns of broader campaign against religious Zionist institutions

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attacked Yair Golan, leader of The Democrats, over Golan’s remarks about the Bnei David pre-army academy in Eli, saying the plan to cut its funding was part of a wider effort against religious Zionist institutions and settlement. Speaking at a faction meeting, Smotrich said, "Golan wants to shut down Bnei David in Eli, yesterday he explicitly announced his intention to stop funding this magnificent institution."

Smotrich pointed to the academy’s wartime record, saying more than 50 of its graduates have fallen in battle, including 30 soldiers in the current war. He said figures such as Emmanuel Moreno, Roi Klein and Eliraz Peretz, "for Golan and his partners on the left, are only good for dying on the battlefield," and argued that the academy has produced generations of combat soldiers who are a model for Israeli society.

He also warned right-wing voters about the possibility that Golan could become defense minister in a future government led by Gadi Eisenkot, with the left and Arab parties. Smotrich called Golan a "pattern recognizer" and said he was a natural partner for Arab parties, adding that Golan had previously persecuted the religious Zionist public.

Smotrich said the left would carry out its promises without compromise and claimed that what is described as a "government of service members" would in practice dismantle the institutions that train IDF fighters. He argued that pressure on pre-army academies and hesder yeshivas would be only the first step in a broader plan, which he said also involved foreign, European-funded actors working with opposition figures to dismantle the settlement project in Judea and Samaria. He said the plan included removing 100 new settlements and 160 agricultural farms in the area, concluding, "We are building Israel’s security belt, and they will dismantle it."