Smotrich still slated for US conference after talk of ‘wiping out’ Palestinian town

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s appearance at a conference in Washington hosted by the Israel Bonds organization is still slated to take place, even after the far-right lawmaker’s call yesterday to “wipe out” a Palestinian village, a source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel Bonds has issued its first public statement on the matter, though it avoids directly addressing Smotrich’s scheduled appearance.

“Development Corporation for Israel, known as Israel Bonds, has always maintained a focus on one core mission: to generate financial support through the sale of Israel bonds for the building and development of Israel’s economy without regard to politics,” the organization says.

“We are a nonpartisan financial organization, which sells Israel bonds issued by the State of Israel through its Finance Ministry. As part of their long-established responsibilities, Israel’s finance ministers from across the political spectrum have historically, over Israel Bonds’ 72-year history, attended our events. One of the organization’s most unique and paramount attributes is that it remains unbiased with regard to any political party or affiliation, enabling all to show unwavering support for the wellbeing of Israel and its people, through investments in Israel bonds.”