Senior Rabbis to Meet Netanyahu to Boost Right-Wing Voter Turnout

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are scheduled to meet with a group of prominent Religious Zionist rabbis on Thursday. The meeting, framed as a "Saving the Right" conference, aims to increase voter turnout among right-wing supporters and mobilize thousands of activists ahead of upcoming elections.

Among the expected attendees are Rabbis Eliakim Levanon, Yigal Levinstein, Yehoshua Shapira, Chaim Gantz, Baruch Wieder, Yehuda Sadon, Chaim Baruch, Eliezer Shmuelov, and Eliyahu Mali, with more rabbis anticipated to join. The event is specifically targeting the base of the Religious Zionist party, led by Smotrich, and is not intended for Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's supporters.

The conference is being organized by Zvika Brot and Omer Rachamim, campaign managers for the Religious Zionist party. They are coordinating the effort with Yisrael Gantz, the head of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, who is affiliated with the Likud party. This collaboration highlights a close working relationship between Netanyahu's Likud and Smotrich's Religious Zionist party.

Officials from the Religious Zionist party have dismissed claims that Minister Ben-Gvir was excluded from the event, emphasizing that the conference's focus is on Smotrich's voter base. The organizers confirmed that the campaign managers are maintaining open communication and full coordination between the Religious Zionist party and Likud.