Smotrich Blames Internal Strife for Religious Appointments Failures

Finance Minister and Religious Zionism party chairman Bezalel Smotrich stated in a podcast that internal disputes within the religious Zionist public have significantly hampered its ability to influence appointments to the Chief Rabbinate and city rabbinates. Smotrich explained that "we lost the Chief Rabbinate because of our wars," referring to a situation where internal disagreements prevented a unified stance behind a candidate favored by his party. He initially sought to avoid political decisions on the Chief Rabbi's identity, instead asking Rabbi Yaakov Ariel to convene a rabbinical committee to select the Religious Zionism party's candidate. However, after Rabbi Meir Kahane was chosen, Smotrich claimed that some rabbis within his own movement began working against the appointment, approaching Haredi yeshiva leaders to undermine the candidacy. He emphasized that the opposition came from within the religious Zionist camp, not from the Haredi sector.

Smotrich recounted that after further attempts to reach a consensus failed, Rabbi Ariel released him from the committee's decision. "You, the rabbis, have not succeeded in Torah law for a year and a half, to reach decisions," Smotrich recalled saying at the time. Consequently, he shifted to a political decision-making process based on feasibility rather than theological merit. "If it comes to me, I check only one thing: if I have a chance to succeed," he stated, clarifying that determining who is more religiously worthy is not his role.

He also revealed his decision-making process, which involves a group of about thirty rabbis he convened upon entering office for regular joint study and consultation. "I make the decisions," Smotrich asserted, acknowledging that politics is a profession. He described this model as an attempt to bridge the historical tension within religious Zionism regarding whether rabbis or politicians should make public decisions. The forum, which initially included around thirty rabbis, has since narrowed to five due to time and commitment constraints: Rabbis Chananiel Etrog, David Dudkevitch, Yehoshua Shapira, Shimon Cohen, and Chaim Gantz.

Regarding the Chief Rabbinate elections, Smotrich noted that while some in his party, like MK Simcha Rothman, supported Rabbi Kalman Bar from the outset, he himself had a different preference. Nevertheless, he pledged his support to Rabbi Bar after the election. Smotrich also admitted to asking members of the electoral body aligned with his party to follow his lead, but they did not all comply, resulting in a loss by a single vote. He attributed this to the nature of the religious Zionist public, which he described as a "public of leaders" where individuals are reluctant to defer their opinions, even to rabbinical or political leadership.

Smotrich further addressed delays in appointing city rabbis, again citing internal disputes. He mentioned Haifa, where a prolonged conflict between two communities over candidate preferences delayed the appointment of Rabbi Blum until the opportunity had largely passed. He also pointed to Ariel and Arad as cities experiencing similar struggles. Smotrich rejected the notion that he did not invest enough energy in these appointments, explaining that he is responsible for numerous other critical areas, including security, the economy, Judea and Samaria, and religious education, unlike Shas chairman Arie Deri, who he claimed focuses solely on religious services. He detailed the coalition negotiations where Shas received the Ministry of Religious Services, while his party retained influence over legislative processes through Rothman's committee, allowing them to impact issues like kashrut and food regulations.