Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is facing a fight for political survival in elections in October after angering his fellow West Bank settlers by voting not to punish ultra-Orthodox Jews who refuse to serve in the military.
Background
Smotrich, a lifelong settler in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, leads the Religious Zionism party, which opposes a Palestinian state and argues that Jews’ claim to land between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea arises from the Bible.
Several Western countries have banned him from entering over accusations he supports violence by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, which he and the Israeli government reject.
Current Situation
Smotrich’s party now holds seven seats in the 120-seat parliament, after running in 2022 on a combined list with another far-right party that jointly won 14.
Opinion polls lately indicate Religious Zionism would struggle to breach the minimum 3.5% of the vote needed to win any seats in October.
Gayil Talshir, a political science lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Smotrich’s position represents a calculated decision to avoid a firm stance against the exemption that would have forced him to quit the coalition.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
