MK Bezalel Smotrich, the head of the Religious Zionism party, has sharply attacked the number-three on the National Unity party list, former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, for statements he made against the settlement movement.
"If it walks like a Leftist, smells like a Leftist, and quacks like a Leftist - then it's a Leftist," Smotrich said, "even if Gantz and Eizenkot cover their Leftist views with religious right-wing fig-leaves in order to deceive right-wingers and steal right-wing votes in order to hand them to the Left."
In conversation with Israel National News, Smotrich noted that, "The Left understands all too well that the coming elections are going to be critical. There are around three seats' worth of Religious-Zionist voters who are still sitting on the fence, and Eizenkot's strategy is to try and persuade them to vote for Gantz and hand over right-wing votes to the Left.
"That's why Gantz has bedecked himself with six religious fig-leaves and is investing hugely in this sector while trying to hide his and Eizenkot's left-wing positions," he added. "But the religious community isn't stupid and realizes what is at stake and how critical these elections are for the future of the Jewish state. The religious community is sick of politicians who see them as voting fodder and then turn around and despise their values and viewpoints, and they aren't going to be deceived by all this sleight of hand."
Smotrich added that this was his explanation for the way Gantz and team have been operating recently. "Gantz understands that the only thing stopping the Right getting 61 seats are these undecided voters in the Religious-Zionist community, which is why he is investing so disproportionally there. He realizes that attracting these three seats' worth of voters is the only way he can dream of becoming prime minister."
Smotrich also discussed Matan Kahana's safe spot on the National Unity list, which was one of Eizenkot's conditions for joining up with Gantz. "I'm sure that pretty soon, we'll be hearing Kahana talking about 'painful concessions for the sake of peace,' and how 'you make peace with enemies, not friends,' and how important it is to bring the Joint List into government in order to advance mutual coexistence with Arab-Israelis. That's what happens when a person has no values and only wants a government position."
MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) also responded to Eizenkot's recent statements. "Classic Leftism," he said. "And soon enough, we'll have Matan Kahana explaining how we have to make sacrifices for peace along with a whole bunch of left-wing slogans."