Netanyahu and Smotrich Rally Religious Zionists to Boost Right-Wing Vote

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, chairman of the Religious Zionism party, held a closed meeting with dozens of senior rabbis and institutional leaders from the Religious Zionist community on Thursday. The event, titled "Saving the Right," aimed to establish a broad field operation of thousands of activists to increase voter turnout for right-wing parties.

Netanyahu and Smotrich are coordinating closely on this initiative, which is part of a larger plan by their parties to boost the overall vote share for the right. The campaign seeks to mobilize approximately five Knesset seats worth of voters who are currently undecided about participating in the election. Notably absent from the meeting was Itamar Ben-Gvir, chairman of the Otzma Yehudit party.

Following the rabbis' gathering, Netanyahu attended a meeting of settlement leaders. He praised Smotrich's performance in the current government and pledged continued work on legal reforms in the next term, also commending MK Simcha Rothman. Netanyahu addressed recent road blockades by members of the ultra-Orthodox community, stating they do not represent the broader Haredi public but rather a small faction.

During his remarks, Netanyahu alluded to a political figure, stating, "The left-wing camp in Israel is today controlled by the most extreme elements ever. They have become more and more extreme in the last four years... They will not only not withstand pressure, they will surrender to pressure." This comment is interpreted as a jab at figures like former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, who has been critical of the government.