Ben Gvir rules out connection with Smotrich: "I am losing the periphery and the young"

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir addressed the upcoming election campaign today (Monday) and ruled out the possibility of running together with Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich. In an interview with 103fm, Ben Gvir said that a connection between the two could harm the strength of the right-wing bloc, and called on Smotrich to join the new party of Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter.

"If I take Smotrich - the right loses," said Ben Gvir. "There is not one poll where I don't see that if I connect with Smotrich, I lose the periphery, I lose young voters, and that is a problem. We want to increase the power and not decrease the power. Smotrich needs to go to Winter."

Ben Gvir added that he is following Winter's new party and believes that its separate run could harm the right-wing bloc. "It is very dangerous. If Winter really cares about the bloc - he needs to join Smotrich. It is very disturbing why he hasn't done so until now," he said.

"Be a minister, be serious already"

During the interview, Ben Gvir also addressed the criticism he received after being filmed at the DJ booth in a club in Tel Aviv. Interviewer Eyal Berkovich attacked him and said: "You became a DJ? Be a minister, be serious already, what has become of you? Do you see how many murders there are? You are going to be a DJ?".

Ben Gvir replied: "How many murders are there? How many murders? There are 95% fewer terror attacks...". Berkovich interrupted him and claimed that the responsibility for thwarting terror attacks is not his: "It's not you. It's the Shin Bet. Even when there are terror attacks, you are not to blame. The fact that you blamed Omer Bar-Lev doesn't mean that we blame you for the terror attacks."

Ben Gvir replied mockingly: "You are right, prisons are not me, weapons are not me, everything is not me."

"We don't recruit Haredim by force"

Later, Ben Gvir addressed the issue of Haredi recruitment and claimed that the way to integrate them into service is through incentives and not through coercion. "All those who spoke: Lieberman, Bennett, Yair Golan - I am the only one in the State of Israel who recruited Haredim. The only one who brought Haredim to the police - that is me," he said.

"We don't recruit Haredim by force, not with beatings, not with slaps, not with sanctions. Do you know how I managed to bring 1,400 Haredim to the police? I hugged them. I want to bring them with a hug and it works. I am the only one who brings Haredim. I recruit Haredim."

Ben Gvir also addressed the criticism leveled at him by political commentator Amit Segal. According to him, he was not convinced by the arguments presented against him. "Amit Segal says he supports a broad consensus government with Eisenkot. A government with Eisenkot - there is no judicial reform, no moves in Gaza, it will be a government of national paralysis. When Amit Segal said that I am harming the legitimacy, then in what? In the changes I am making in the prisons?".

Interviewer Erel Segal replied: "I think you did great things. But part of it is nonsense, the noose, saying things, all sorts of things. Itamar Ben Gvir the politician, the serious guy, needs to continue and do these provocations? You are doing nonsense."

Ben Gvir rejected the criticism and brought as an example his attitude towards the Gaza flotilla activists. "There was a flotilla here, the first flotilla, the Prime Minister and Sa'ar told me let's do PR, let's hand out sandwiches, let's do Pilates, the pictures will be in Europe, great pictures. Two weeks later we dealt with another flotilla. Do you know why? Because those lawbreakers, those terror supporters, said that in Israel there are suckers and then Ben Gvir came."

"And yes, I received them with a heavy hand, I sent them to the terrorists' prison. They want to do another flotilla and now they say no, no, no, there is a crazy minister there named Itamar Ben Gvir, we are not ready to come to this crazy minister. That's how it works in the world. I prefer to look less beautiful and that my soldiers will be alive. I prefer to be less nice."

Towards the end of the interview, Berkovich accused Ben Gvir that despite his tenure, the citizens of Israel do not feel safer and asked him why they should choose him again.

"You are talking nonsense," replied Ben Gvir. "I am doing things there that haven't been done there for 40 years. I am doing, I am trying, no one has done."