Netanyahu and Smotrich to Meet Rabbis for Election Prep; Ben-Gvir Excluded

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Religious Zionism party chairman Bezalel Smotrich are scheduled to meet with nine rabbis on Thursday for an election preparedness conference titled "Saving the Right." Notably, Itamar Ben-Gvir, chairman of the Otzma Yehudit party and a minister, was not invited to the event. The closed-door meeting, reportedly taking place at the Orient Hotel in Jerusalem, aims to strategize for the 2026 elections, focusing on the division of labor among right-wing factions and maximizing voter turnout.

Ben-Gvir was reportedly unaware of the conference until approached by Kan News. His exclusion is significant given the gathering's purpose of uniting prominent rabbis and heads of religious institutions to support Netanyahu and Smotrich's election preparations. This comes amid ongoing tensions between Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu, with the two having not held a private conversation in recent weeks, only meeting in broader forums.

Otzma Yehudit views this situation as a sign of growing distance between the parties and evidence of Netanyahu's alleged plan to form a broad government with Gadi Eisenkot, excluding Otzma Yehudit. Adding to the friction is the recent surplus agreement signed between the Likud and Religious Zionism parties, leaving Otzma Yehudit without such an agreement. Following the signing, Ben-Gvir stated that the Likud refused to sign a surplus agreement with Otzma Yehudit as part of an effort to diminish the party and exclude him from a unity government planned with Eisenkot.