Netanyahu and Smotrich Launch Joint Initiative to Boost Right-Wing Vote
Translated & summarized from Makor Rishon by baba
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will jointly host a closed meeting in Jerusalem titled "Saving the Right" to mobilize thousands of activists and boost right-wing voter turnout. Key rabbis and community leaders are invited, but Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir was not. The initiative aims to coordinate efforts within the right-wing bloc ahead of elections, with Likud and the Religious Zionist party having signed a surplus vote agreement.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Smotrich will co-host a "Saving the Right" event to boost voter turnout.
- The meeting aims to mobilize thousands of activists and leaders from the Religious Zionist community.
- Prominent rabbis and community figures are invited, but Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir was excluded.
- The initiative is part of broader efforts to consolidate the right-wing bloc before the elections.
- Likud and the Religious Zionist party have signed a surplus vote agreement, while Otzma Yehudit has not.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are set to hold a closed-door meeting in Jerusalem on Thursday with dozens of prominent rabbis, institutional leaders, and figures from the Religious Zionist community. The event, titled "Saving the Right," aims to establish a large-scale field operation involving thousands of activists to encourage tens of thousands of right-wing voters to cast their ballots.
The invitation to the conference specifies that alongside senior rabbis, local rabbis, heads of committees, and public representatives are also invited. "Your participation is crucial for the success of the entire camp," the invitation states, emphasizing the goal of mobilizing the Religious Zionist community's network of communities and institutions for organized activity leading up to and on election day.
Notably absent from the invitations are Otzma Yehudit party leader and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, and Rabbi Dov Lior. Sources involved in organizing the event dismissed claims that the gathering is intended to exclude Ben-Gvir, asserting that the participant list is determined by the nature of the field operation Netanyahu and Smotrich intend to build. They highlighted the coordination between the Prime Minister and the leader of the Religious Zionist party in preparation for the elections, with the conference primarily focused on enlisting thousands of activists and yeshiva students to increase voter turnout for the right-wing bloc.
According to Channel 7, an initial attempt was made to hold a meeting with Netanyahu alone with the rabbis, but some requested Smotrich's participation as well. Consequently, Netanyahu approached the Finance Minister, and they will now co-host the event. This initiative comes amid broader efforts within the right-wing camp to minimize vote loss and boost turnout. In parallel, the Likud and the Religious Zionist-Identity parties have signed a surplus vote agreement, while Otzma Yehudit currently lacks such an agreement.
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