In the shadow of attempts to recruit more defectors from Israel’s governing coalition, the chairman of the Religious Zionist Party says that politicians who are members of the Bennett government, and have broken their promises to the public, should not be admitted to a shul.
MK Bezalel Smotrich caused a stir with his comments, slamming those who are partners in the Bennett-Lapid government.
“I argue that whoever is a partner in this government should not be allowed in a shul.”
He clarified his remarks, saying, “I think that people who have turned their backs on the public should feel unwanted. Anyone who sold the country to the Islamic movement and is now going to do the same to the supporters of terrorism on the joint list is definitely not worthy of coming into a bet knesset.”
In response to his remarks, the governing coalition responded with an attack, stating, “The way of Smotrich, who pursues an extreme policy of burning barns, shames the concept of ‘religious Zionism.’”
The chairman of the Religious Services Committee, MK Yulia Malinowski of Yisrael Beiteinu, remarked, “It is good to know that Bezalel Smotrich will be a ‘selector’ for Judaism. Earlier, he turned half of the people into traitors and tried to make the government illegitimate just because he was not part of it. Now, he decides who is right or wrong to enter a bet knesset. I really do not want to know what his next step will be.”
The Deputy Minister of Economy, MK Yair Golan, also attacked Smotrich, saying, “In the state of Smotrich, there is no place for every Jew, unless you meet the threshold of the Messianic right.”
Hours after the interview, Smotrich published a clarification on social media, claiming, among other things, that “the example of the bet knesset was not said in a religious context, but in a cultural context.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
