MK Ofir Sofer (Religious Zionism) was a guest at the Israel National News studio on Thursday and stated that in his opinion, despite all the reports in the media, the Religious Zionism Party and Otzma Yehudit will run together in the upcoming election.
"It saddens me to hear that updates from closed rooms are being published on the radio. The negotiations should be conducted quietly. It is possible that the parties who have an interest in releasing such information are interested in driving a wedge between Itamar [Ben Gvir] and Bezalel [Smotrich], who know that it should be done quietly. The public is not interested in the stories but rather that we will run together and that will happen," said Sofer.
Sofer responded to the claims that if the Likud does not have a majority to form a right-wing government, the first party to be sidelined would be his party. "Everyone believes in the path and vision of the national religious camp and will not rush to dismantle it. Bezalel's presence has become very significant and, in my opinion, it will be very much needed and they will not give up on him that easily."
Sofer added that, in his opinion, Matan Kahan’s kashrut reform is wrong, and elaborated, "We submitted a bill very recently in this regard, which would provide a solution to the preservation of the status of the regional rabbinate. After all, no one would ever consider having the northern district of the police manage the Jerusalem district. Only the kashrut system has such a thing. There is no virtual kashrut. You can optimize and improve the system, but you don't need to dismantle it."
Asked about the possibility of appointing a Chief Rabbi from religious Zionism, MK Sofer explained that the change starts in the Ministry of Religious Services. "I think we should not give up on the Ministry of Religious Services. We neglected this ministry for a very long time. We are continuing the partnership with the haredim, but no one should be a sucker. There should be a rotation in the role - half a term with a haredi minister and half a term with us, and everything should be done fairly and in a true partnership."