Religious Zionist Party chairman and Minister Bezalel Smotrich delivered a special statement Wednesday afternoon in which he presented a political offer to Ofer Winter, chairman of the Amcha Yisrael party, aimed at persuading him to withdraw from the Knesset race.
Smotrich announced that he was prepared to allocate Winter a ministerial position in the Defense Ministry from the quota of positions his party would demand during coalition negotiations, granting him responsibility for two major areas: promoting voluntary emigration from the Gaza Strip and recruiting haredim into the military and integrating them into the workforce.
The proposal comes amid concerns within the Religious Zionist Party about losing votes to parties that fail to cross the electoral threshold.
The minister argued that Winter's continued candidacy jeopardizes the right-wing camp's chances of victory and urged him to accept the offer so that he could remain involved in public service without running in the elections.
"I will give up a ministerial position allocated to my party for you if you withdraw and do not endanger the right," Smotrich declared.
At the beginning of his remarks, the minister addressed Winter personally, praising his military service and public career and emphasizing that he considers him a partner in the national camp's core values.
"Ofer, my brother, you are a good man. A principled leader and a brave commander with many achievements to your credit, and you represent an important voice in Israeli public life," he said.
"We all remember the 1992 elections. Good people, full of good intentions, who split the camp, threw votes into the trash, and brought upon us the accursed Oslo Accords. Thirty years later, we are still licking the bleeding wounds of that disaster."
Smotrich went on to warn that votes cast for parties that fail to cross the electoral threshold in the current elections could also affect the distribution of Knesset seats between the political blocs.
"The votes wasted below the electoral threshold will make the difference between victory and defeat in the elections. The national camp cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past."
Smotrich recalled that he had previously offered Winter a place on the Religious Zionist Party's electoral list.
"Before the candidate lists were finalized, I offered you a full and genuine partnership, a respectable place on the list, and the opportunity to run together based on shared values," he said. "That was the right path then, and it is the right path today."
Addressing polling figures, Smotrich argued that the Amcha Yisrael party is not expected to cross the electoral threshold, although Winter, he said, possesses other polls suggesting a different outcome.
Smotrich recalled Naftali Bennett's failure to cross the electoral threshold in the 2019 elections and the Tehiya party's candidacy in the 1992 elections, arguing that internal polls do not guarantee success at the ballot box.
According to Smotrich, Winter should not abandon his public ambitions but should instead find another way to fulfill them.
"Ofer, I do not expect you to withdraw from public service and go off to pursue your private interests. The people of Israel need you in positions of action and influence, and I know how deeply the desire to act and serve burns within you," he said.
As part of his detailed proposal, Smotrich pledged to demand a ministerial position in the Defense Ministry for Winter, at the expense of the positions and powers allocated to the Religious Zionist Party under future coalition agreements.
"I will place at your disposal the political power that Religious Zionism will have after the elections, and I will demand for you, as part of the coalition negotiations, at the expense of the positions and powers to which we will be entitled according to the allocation formula that is determined, the position of minister in the Defense Ministry," he declared.
The first area Smotrich seeks to place under Winter's responsibility is the promotion of voluntary emigration from the Gaza Strip.
Under the proposal, a dedicated directorate would be established under the designated minister to coordinate the activities of the government and security agencies involved in the issue.
Smotrich proposed granting the directorate statutory powers, a budget, and authorized staffing positions so that it could work with the Foreign Ministry, Mossad, Shin Bet, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), National Security Council, and IDF.
"The mission of voluntary emigration from Gaza is undoubtedly the most central and important mission for deciding the campaign and completing the victory that we are all working to achieve," the minister said.
The second area covered by the proposal concerns the recruitment of haredim into the military and their integration into society and employment.
Smotrich proposes establishing a directorate under Winter's responsibility that would focus on adapting military service frameworks to the haredi community and developing additional programs to prepare recruits for service and support them afterward.
According to the plan he presented, the directorate would receive the authority and resources necessary to adapt the military system to the needs of haredi recruits, establish pre-military frameworks, including preparatory academies and hesder yeshivas, and develop institutions in border and peripheral regions.
In addition, the proposed directorate would be responsible for establishing support and job-placement mechanisms for graduates of these programs who wish to enter the workforce.
Smotrich compared the proposed model to the Settlement Administration in the Defense Ministry, presenting it as an example of how authority and resources can be concentrated in a specific area.
"Just as we did with the Settlement Administration in the Defense Ministry, through which we brought about an unprecedented revolution in Judea and Samaria, so too will we place at your disposal, in a professional and effective manner, all the tools and powers needed to ensure the success of the mission," he said.
Toward the end of his statement, Smotrich once again addressed Winter personally, emphasizing that the purpose of the proposal, according to him, was not to remove Winter from public life but to enable him to exert influence through an executive position.
"Ofer, my brother, you were and remain a fierce warrior for the people of Israel. You did not enter politics for a seat, but to strengthen Israel's security and the values of the national camp. I am offering you a genuine partnership."
"Ofer, together, only together, can we succeed. I call on you from here: Let us demonstrate national responsibility and prevent another failure like that of 1992."