'Not a Zionist, or religious': Bennett bashes Smotrich's opposition to enforcing haredi draft

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett launched an attack on Religious Zionist Party leader and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Saturday, accusing him of betraying religious-Zionist values by supporting legislation exempting haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men from IDF service.

Bennett, who leads the B'Yachad (Together) party alongside Yair Lapid, made the remarks during a Zoom meeting with party activists, as the two opposition leaders intensify their efforts to attract religious-Zionist voters ahead of the October 27 election.

The alliance views the national-religious community, traditionally associated with knitted kippot, as a potential source of swing voters and intends to focus its campaign efforts on this constituency in the final days before the vote.

During the meeting, Bennett sharply criticized Smotrich and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing them of serving the interests of Shas chairman MK Arye Deri.

"The one who bears responsibility is Smotrich - no less than Netanyahu."

Addressing religious-Zionist voters directly, Bennett condemned Smotrich's support for legislation granting exemptions from military service to haredi men.

"I'm addressing the religious Zionist audience, people who are observant like me, people who served in the IDF and are proud of it. For three years, families are falling apart, careers are collapsing, businesses are collapsing. Smotrich has turned himself into the architect of the evasion law," he scolded.

Bennett also criticized the allocation of government funds to those who do not serve in the military.

"Every transfer of another billion and another three billion in budget to evaders is a disgrace."

"How is he not ashamed to call himself a religious Zionist?" Bennett wondered. "He has nothing to do with Zionism or religion."

Invoking Jewish scripture, Bennett argued that avoiding military service during wartime contradicts the principles of the Torah.

"There is not a single place in the Torah that the Philistines are besieging us and it says, 'And they will go and learn Torah'.  This is a lie, this is a sin, this is against the Torah. The Torah says, 'Your brothers are going to war, and you will sit here? This is a distortion.'"

"Smotrich is not a Zionist, and he is not religious. And eye rolls and dancing will not help," he concluded.

Bennett and Smotrich's shared political roots

Bennett's criticism of Smotrich comes despite his own roots in the religious-Zionist movement and the history of cooperation between the parties associated with the two politicians.

Bennett entered electoral politics as leader of Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home), a right-wing religious-Zionist party that emerged from the former National Religious Party. Elected party chairman in November 2012, he led Bayit Yehudi to 12 Knesset seats in the 2013 election, its strongest showing in decades.

That electoral success came through a joint list with National Union-Tkuma, the political group from which Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party (RZP) later emerged. Bayit Yehudi and Tkuma also ran together in the 2015 election.