Senior minister issues a grave warning: "They will shut down Channel 14"

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addressed today, Monday, the political storm surrounding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attendance at the concert of singer Eden Ben Zaken, and attacked the criticism voiced following the event.

During a residents' meeting of the Religious Zionism party in Efrat, Smotrich claimed that the calls against Ben Zaken and the criticism of Netanyahu are part of an attempt to silence opinions identified with the right. He compared the event to concerts attended in the past by Benny Gantz, Yoav Gallant, and Gadi Eizenkot, and claimed that they were met with applause.

Smotrich then moved on to a broader political warning. According to him, if the left comes to power, "there will be a 'Season' government here," and he claimed that in such a situation, steps would be taken against officials and media figures, including the dismissal of Gofman, Zini, and Yehuda Eliyahu, and the closure of Channel 14.

Smotrich also referred to the past and mentioned Channel 7, which he presented as an example that the scenario of closing media outlets has already occurred in the past.

"They already closed Channel 7, we were there," he said.

The remarks were made against the backdrop of the storm that erupted after Netanyahu and his wife Sara attended Eden Ben Zaken's concert at the Menora Arena last week. During the show, Netanyahu greeted the audience, and following his arrival, calls were heard on social media to remove Ben Zaken from the program "The Voice," claiming that the Prime Minister's presence turned the event into election propaganda. On the other hand, artists including Static and Eyal Golan expressed support for Ben Zaken and called for avoiding boycotts against her.