Religious Affairs Minister. Matan Kahana (Yamina) attended the Eilat press conference Monday, durinmg which he responded to the friction in the government and said that it was an excellent government, although he did not dream of sitting in a coalition with the left-wing parties and the United Arab List (Ra'am).
Kahana said: "The budget will pass unless someone doesn't show. Despite all the frictions in government we are working great together. Even if it is not the government we dreamed of, it is a great government."
On the Yamina party, Minister Kahana said: "We are not an 'anyone but Bibi' party, because we were the first to say that we would join every government with him. We made an effort to allow Netanyahu to form a government, including myself, who personally went to senior religious Zionist rabbis to put pressure on Smotrich."
"We agreed to go into a government with Netanyahu. Since someone else removed Netanyahu's desire and ability to form a government, we formed this government because that is what Israel needed," he said.
When asked if he would like the haredi parties to join the government, Kahana replied: "I would be happy to see a broader and more stable government. But the current government has a number of advantages, like the things I promote in matters of religion and state, that can exist in a government like ours."
Kahana did not appreciate MK Yulia Malinovsky's attack on the Chief Rabbinate: "I am not her spokesperson and she has a lot of merits in promoting the kashrut reform I am leading. After the reform passes people will thank her for the things she has done. I did not like the statement, but I am not a machine of condemnation and at the first opportunity I explained how much this plan strengthens the Chief Rabbinate and Yulia is critical in its promotion."
Kahana commented on the disappearance of his party in the polls: "I am not moved by the polls that we are below the electoral threshold. We have four years to work and do great things for the citizens of Israel and they will learn to appreciate it. At least 50 percent of Yamina voters are happy with our moves and we get sympathy. I do not focus on numbers, and I ignore polls."