Rabbinical court judge Rabbi Avraham Zarbib has rejected Religious Zionism chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's offer to accept a guaranteed spot on the Religious Zionism Party's Knesset slate.
According to a report by journalist Amit Segal, sources close to Rabbi Zarbib said that the possibility of serving as a government minister was also discussed, but he declined for several reasons, including his desire to continue "belonging to all of the people of Israel and not to something partisan."
About a month ago, Minister Smotrich met with Rabbi Zarbib and presented him with an offer of a guaranteed second-place slot on the party's candidate list. The move was intended to inject new blood into the party and appeal to a broader segment of the public.
Over the course of the prolonged fighting, Rabbi Zarbib became one of the most recognizable figures among IDF reservists and the Israeli public at large. During the war, he served for extended periods in the reserves as a D9 bulldozer operator in the IDF Combat Engineering Corps.
On the most recent Independence Day, Rabbi Zarbib was selected by the public committee to light a torch at the state ceremony on Mount Herzl.