Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich burst into tears during the Religious Zionist Party faction meeting on Monday when he mentioned the many fallen soldiers from the religious Zionist sector.
"I want to say on a personal note. In the past few days we have seen, read, and heard heartwrenching stories about the fallen, and among them many reservists, including older men, fathers of many children, religious and secular, from kibbutzim and settlements. But you can't ignore the fact that the religious Zionist sector has paid a price disproportionate to its percentage of the population, the most heavy price in this war. Scholars, Torah students who went to battle, fell to defend the country and left behind dozens of orphans," Smotrich stated.
He continued: "On the other side, there's a blood-boiling phenomenon, among marginal extremists, who continue even now to discredit and slander this community that I'm proud to be a part of and call us 'lovers of death, messianic, crazy.' The overwhelming majority of Israelis reject these slurs and condemn them. The overwhelming majority cherish and appreciate the religious community's contribution, along with the contribution of other communities, to the war effort.
"Today more than ever, I'm proud to be part of this community, proud to promote the Torah world, educational institutions, settlements, and volunteering and charity organizations, and this big home which produces brave warriors who fight and risk their lives for us all," the Minister concluded.