From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Smotrich: Bringing down government during war would pose ‘existential danger’ to Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Bringing down the government during wartime would pose an “existential danger” to Israel, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warns ahead of a scheduled preliminary vote on dissolving the Knesset.
“History will not forgive anyone who drags the State of Israel into elections during a war and leads to a loss in the war,” the Religious Zionism party chairman declares from the Knesset rostrum.
“We need our ultra-Orthodox brothers to be part of the great mitzvah of military service with us. It is a great mitzvah and it is also an existential, national and security need,” he continues, arguing that this needs to be accomplished “while preserving the government.”
Going to elections now constitutes “an existential danger to the future of the State of Israel” and doing so is a “terrible national irresponsibility,” Smotrich asserts.
If the legislation to dissolve the Knesset passes its preliminary vote today, it would still need to pass three further votes to take effect. If it fails, opposition parties have to wait six months to bring another Knesset dissolution bill to a vote.
The Times of Israel Community.