Ben-Gvir Accuses Smotrich of Arrogance Due to Mizrahi, Convert Background

Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir launched a sharp attack on Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday, accusing him of treating him with condescension due to his ethnic background and status as a convert to Judaism. In an interview with journalist Yishai Cohen, Ben-Gvir stated, "He treats me with condescension, arrogance, and haughtiness because I am Mizrahi and a ba'al teshuvah (a returnee to religious observance)."

Ben-Gvir also alleged that Smotrich excludes rabbis associated with his Otzma Yehudit party. He cited an instance where Smotrich organized a rabbis' conference, referring to them as "rabbis of the right," and when asked why Ben-Gvir wasn't invited, allegedly responded that Ben-Gvir "has no rabbis." Ben-Gvir countered this by naming prominent rabbis such as Rabbi Dov Lior and Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, questioning Smotrich's audacity in making such a claim and calling the behavior "very problematic."

This public dispute follows a recent sharp letter from Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas movement, who called on people not to vote for Ben-Gvir. Rabbi Yosef criticized individuals he described as "extremists" from the Otzma Yehudit party for provoking and sanctifying the ascent to the Temple Mount, thereby causing many to transgress prohibitions related to the afterlife and nationalism. He further stated that it is "absolutely forbidden and a protest" to assist their party or give them power in elections, asserting that voting for them constitutes a transgression and participation in causing a severe spiritual punishment.