Smotrich warns opposition would shut down religious prep schools and West Bank outposts

At the opening of his faction meeting, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attacked Yair Golan, head of The Democrats, over reported plans to cut state funding for religious pre army preparatory academies, especially Bnei David in Eli. Smotrich said Golan had explicitly announced a day earlier that he intended to stop funding the institution, which he described as a major school that has produced generations of commanders and heroes, if he and his left wing and Arab party partners form the next government.

Smotrich cited the human cost for the academy, saying more than 50 of its alumni have fallen in battle over the years, including 30 in the current war. He accused the left of valuing figures such as Emmanuel Moreno, Roi Klein and Eliraz Peretz only as martyrs, not as representatives of a religious public whose values should be reflected in Israeli life. “They want to close the institution and silence all of us,” he said.

He also issued what he called a direct warning to right wing voters, saying, “I am giving a clear and unequivocal warning to the right wing public in Israel, Yair Golan will be defense minister in an Eisenkot government.” Smotrich said Golan, whom he described as a “natural partner” of Arab parties, had called religious Israelis “subhumans” and “death eaters,” and would carry out his promises if given power. He added that the bloc he called the “change camp” talks about a “serving citizens alliance” but would in practice dismantle the training grounds of many IDF fighters and officers.

Smotrich said the fight over Bnei David was only the first stage of a broader plan. He claimed senior figures in the European Union and wealthy foreign backed actors were coordinating with opposition leaders to evacuate hundreds of settlements and farms in Judea and Samaria. According to him, the plan targets 100 new settlements and 160 additional agricultural farms, which he said are part of a “revolution in settlement.” “We are building Israel’s security buffer zone and they will dismantle it,” he said.