Smotrich says he’s ready to be defense minister despite short military service

Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich says he’s ready to be defense minister in the next government despite only completing a shortened military service and having no combat experience.

Speaking to the Ynet news site, Smotrich was asked about the controversy in recent days about Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s military service and his own limited service, given his ambitions should the right-wing form the next government.

Smotrich says he only served for 14 months as an enlisted man in the operations division of the General Staff after being conscripted at the age of 28.

“I can be defense minister,” says the far-right leader. “My service prepared me more than many other things.”

“It’s true, I didn’t get to be a combat fighter and I didn’t run around on the hills, but I was in the nerve center of the army, in the general headquarters. In the places where they sit and manage the army, make the decisions and write the operational plans. I played a very significant role there that I cannot and do not want to detail,” Smotrich says.

Current defense minister Benny Gantz was IDF chief of staff, as were many of his predecessors. However, there have been several defense ministers without significant military experience.