Finance Minister Betsalel Smotrich recently said, in a widely-quoted radio interview, that including an Islamicist party in the government coalition (referring to the previous coalition led by Naftali Bennett) was much, much worse than the Likud’s governmental errors that led to the Oct. 7 massacre and the onset of war with Gaza. Opposition politicians immediately jumped into the fray to denounce what was, I hope we can all agree, a horrific statement.

“One second,” I asked myself, “Why did the interviewer ask such a specific, leading question – one in which Smotrich was bound to belittle the mistakes made by Bibi and his minions, while heaping scorn on decisions made by Bennett and his party (which governed for a little over a year until the Likud’s underhanded tactics forced them out)? On the other hand, did he really ask Smotrich to compare, on air, the faulty decisions that led to the bloody Oct. 7 invasion with the inclusion of a legitimate political party in the government?”

Obviously, Smotrich’s answer had little to do with facts, truth or the future of the State of Israel, and everything to do with politics. Because, for all of his current power, Smotrich heads a small sliver of a party, on a political wing that was willing to let the hostages rot underground while IDF troops rolled heavy tanks from Gaza City to Rafah. It includes those who had hoped to raze Gaza and retake it for Jewish settlement. It includes those busy terrorizing Muslim residents of the West bank. And when it comes to the “alleged” errors Bibi and his advisers committed, admitting there were probably egregious cabinet-level mistakes might hint at the desirability of an independent commission – the kind most of the country wants, according to polls – to investigate, rather than a “national commission” in which the commissioners are appointed by those suspected of those deadly errors.

When it comes to demonstrating loyalty, Smotrich knows which side his bread is........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)