The New Right party responded on Wednesday to Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman’s statement that he would demand the Religious Affairs Ministry in the next government.
Liberman’s announcement came a day after the New Right itself said it would demand the Religious Affairs portfolio, with the intention of implementing a policy of inclusive Judaism.
"A moment after the New Right demanded to take responsibility for issues of religious and state, Liberman remembers to ask for the Religious Affairs portfolio. His goal is to sow conflict and strife, while our goal is to bring about consensus and peace,” the New Right said.
"In the face of a New Right which seeks to connect between the sections of the people, Liberman has come with the intention of splitting and creating a conflict. We insist on our demand to return the Religious Affairs portfolio to Zionist hands," it added.
Liberman’s comments came earlier at a joint conference of the Maariv and the Jerusalem Post newspapers.
"I congratulate the New Right that is adopting the platform of Yisrael Beytenu. It's about time. But the original is always better than the imitation," he said.
"I can only remember that Naftali Bennett was Minister of Religious Affairs, and it was during his time that the person appointed as Chief Rabbi was a Shas representative, Yitzhak Yosef, and not David Stav," Liberman added.