Religious Zionism party leader, and Israel’s incoming Finance Minster and adjunct minister in the defense ministry, Bezalel Smotrich wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (Israel’s New Government Isn’t What You’ve Heard) to counter the lies being said about him, and the incoming Israeli government, in the US media.
“The U.S. media has vilified me and the traditionalist bloc to which I belong since our success in Israel’s November elections. They say I am a right-wing extremist and that our bloc will usher in a “halachic state” in which Jewish law governs. In reality, we seek to strengthen every citizen’s freedoms and the country’s democratic institutions, bringing Israel more closely in line with the liberal American model.”
Smotrich then focused on breaking down four main governmental plans the incoming government is focusing on, for the American public to properly understand: Economy, Religion, Justice, and Judea & Samaria.
Economy
“As finance minister, I will pursue a broad free-market policy,” Smotrich wrote, promising the removal of “government price controls and import restrictions that have limited competition and kept consumer prices high, as well as regulatory reforms and a loosening of bureaucratic control over small businesses.”
He also promised to pursue measures similar to the US’ right-to-work laws to reduce union control over Israel’s labor force.
For those unfamiliar, Israel’s labor unions wield great political power and they have held up much economic development in Israel for decades. Netanyahu was successful in developing Israel’s hi-tech sector, successfully turning it into the engine of Israel’s economy because it was a new industry unhindered by labor unions. Smotrich now wants to take on reduce the power of the labor unions to unleash growth for the other sectors of Israel’s economy.
Religious
For years, the secular, “progressive” agenda has been coerced upon Israeli society, with the prodding and support of the justice system, even though a vast majority of Israeli society is traditional, and strongly connected to their Jewish identity. Israel’s Haaretz paper just wrote up about a research paper that found 80% of Jewish Israelis believe in the one above, in an article titled “Too Few Secular Israelis to revolt”.
Smotrich and the incoming government want to put an end to the secular coercion and increase freedom of religion for the growing traditional and religious community in Israel.
“We wish only to increase the freedom of religious people to participate in the public sphere in accordance with their faith, without coercion on secular people.”
This will include establishing “a minuscule number” of beaches for religious men and women who prefer to be segregated, without infringing upon the secular public.
He also explains their plan to add an amendment to the current law in the spirit of the US Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop decision, removing the obligation of business owners to serve their clients even if it offends their sensibilities.
Justice
Regarding the proposed judicial reform, Smotrich told the WSJ it is “meant to bring Israel closer to the American political model with some limited checks to ensure the judicial system respects the law. We seek to appoint judges in Israel in a process similar to America’s; to define the attorney general’s scope of authority and relation to elected representatives in a manner similar to what’s set down in America; to develop effective oversight mechanisms for law enforcement to ensure they protect basic rights; and to restore the Knesset’s authority to define the fundamental values of the state and its emerging constitution.”
Here is an interview with Smotrich where he explains the need for judicial reform in order to strengthen Israeli democracy.
Judea & Samaria
Smotrich also responded to the importance of his new role in the Defense Ministry taking over the civil administration in Judea and Samaria from the IDF.
Smotrich explained that “the current situation in these regions, in which a feckless military government lacks the civil-service orientation required for governing civil life, is unsustainable.”
“The army needs to deal with security and leave governing to a civil system capable of providing efficient service and protecting individual rights,” he explained.
In addition, Smotrich explained the critical job of stopping the Palestinian Authority, and European Union, takeover of Israeli lands in Judea & Samaria, a strategy developed years ago called the Fayyad plan.
As he explained, “whereby a massive European Union-funded project to facilitate the Palestinian takeover of Area C, the one part of Judea and Samaria where Jews are currently permitted to live under the Oslo Accords.”
Summary
Smotrich is convinced that upon hearing the true intentions of the incoming government, as opposed to the misinformation, Americans would appreciate “the wisdom and justice in these plans,” and “shed their preconceptions” to unite in support of “the resurgence of accountable government, prosperity, individual rights, and democracy in the Jewish homeland.”