Netanyahu and Smotrich Unite Right-Wing Campaign, Excluding Ben-Gvir
Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich launched a joint campaign to boost right-wing voter turnout, excluding Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party. A senior Likud official cited Ben-Gvir's lack of rabbinical support for the exclusion, while Otzma Yehudit accused Likud of planning a coalition without him. The initiative involved meetings with Religious Zionist rabbis and local leaders, aiming to mobilize hundreds of thousands of voters.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Smotrich launched a right-wing voter mobilization campaign excluding Itamar Ben-Gvir.
- A Likud official cited Ben-Gvir's lack of rabbinical backing as the reason for his exclusion from the campaign.
- Otzma Yehudit accused Likud of excluding them to form a coalition with Gadi Eisenkot and without Ben-Gvir.
- The campaign included meetings with hundreds of Religious Zionist rabbis and right-wing leaders.
- Yisrael Gantz, head of the Yesha Council, initiated the effort to mobilize right-wing voters.
- Finance Minister Smotrich stated the upcoming elections will determine Israel's future.
A dispute has erupted between the Likud party and Otzma Yehudit over a joint initiative aimed at increasing voter turnout on the right. A senior Likud official stated that Itamar Ben-Gvir was not invited to a meeting of right-wing parties because his party lacks identifiable rabbis or yeshivas that could mobilize votes in that sector. The Likud official further claimed that they had offered Ben-Gvir financial participation in the initiative to connect him to the effort and boost right-wing turnout with a larger budget, but he refused.
Likud rejected Ben-Gvir's accusations that his exclusion was linked to plans for the next coalition government, particularly the possibility of forming a government with Gadi Eisenkot and without Ben-Gvir. The party asserted that the decision was based solely on practical considerations. This comes amid a large-scale campaign launched to mobilize hundreds of thousands of voters, which included a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and hundreds of rabbis from the Religious Zionist movement.
The meeting, initiated by Yisrael Gantz, head of the Benjamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, along with Smotrich, aimed to formulate joint strategies and establish a coordinated effort to connect with voters ahead of the elections. Gantz described the unprecedented collaboration as a means to mobilize hundreds of thousands of right-wing voters and ensure a significant victory for the right. Smotrich stated at the event that the upcoming elections would determine Israel's future, contrasting a potential government led by Eisenkot, Avigdor Lieberman, and others with the right-wing's goal of strengthening Israel's Jewish identity and security.
Ben-Gvir responded to the event by tweeting, "I love every Jew," alongside a picture of Smotrich. Otzma Yehudit had previously accused Likud of excluding them from the initiative due to intentions to form a government with Eisenkot and without Ben-Gvir.
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