Smotrich offers Winter a ministerial post in exchange for withdrawing from election; party said to reject offer

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he is prepared to give up one of the ministerial positions allocated to his Religious Zionism party in future coalition negotiations to secure People of Israel party chairman Ofer Winter’s withdrawal from the election race, amid concerns that Winter’s party will fail to cross the electoral threshold and waste right-wing votes.

Smotrich offers Winter a ministerial position within the Defense Ministry, with authority over a proposed project to promote the “voluntary” migration of Palestinians from Gaza and an administration to oversee the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF — two of Winter’s core priorities — in exchange for his party’s withdrawal from next week’s election.

“Ofer, my brother, you are a good man. A principled leader and a brave commander with many achievements to your credit,” Smotrich says. He warns, though, that Winter’s continued candidacy risks repeating the 1992 election, when smaller right-wing parties failed to cross the electoral threshold, making way for Yitzhak Rabin’s Labor government.

“The votes that will be wasted below the electoral threshold will make the difference between victory and defeat in the election,” he says. “The right-wing camp cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past.”

Smotrich says he offered Winter a place on Religious Zionism’s electoral slate before the lists were finalized, but the offer was rejected. Religious Zionism has three ministers in the outgoing government, having won seven Knesset seats.

“I do not expect you to withdraw from public activity and go take care of your personal affairs,” Smotrich tells Winter. “I am now offering you a genuine partnership that will provide you with a realistic platform to contribute within the political system.”

“I will give up a ministerial position allocated to my party for you if you withdraw and do not endanger the right,” he adds.

The offer comes amid mounting pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies on Winter to withdraw from the race, with many polls showing his party failing to cross the electoral threshold.

While there is no immediate reaction from People of Israel, various Hebrew media outlets quote “sources” in the party as rejecting Smotrich’s proposal.

“Looks like they don’t understand that we didn’t enter [the race] to secure a job,” the statement says, rejecting the idea that “people can be bought off with a job” and adding: “If we had been satisfied with what is happening in the right-wing camp, we would have joined existing parties.”