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Smotrich Slams Ben Gvir for Leaving Government, Skirting ‘National Responsibility’
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a news conference after announcing that he will sign an order to seize Palestinian Authority funds and transfer them to the families of victims of Palestinian attacks, at Israel’s Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, January 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he decided to remain in the coalition, unlike fellow right-wing firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, out of “national responsibility.”
Speaking on Sunday, he responded to Ben Gvir’s calls for him and his party, Religious Zionism, to join Otzma Yehudit’s ministers in leaving the coalition over the hostage release and ceasefire deal.
“I didn’t resign because I have a national responsibility to win and secure, and I’m ready to pay a price for it,” he said. He added that he is not fleeing the battle in the middle of the war, “even after a painful loss in one of its battles, just to keep my hands clean.”
The issue was a matter of life and death, Smotrich said, which Israel could not afford to play with. Any ultimatum between Ben Gvir and Smotrich “would have provoked a counter one from [Shas chairman Aryeh] Deri and the ultra-Orthodox” parties.
Scuttling the deal for “political reasons” would cause a “galactic explosion,” Smotrich said, adding “I’m not sure the person who pushed for it understands its meaning.” Such an event, he said, would lead to a societal and political crisis, with streets burning from demonstrations. the burning of the streets.
Smotrich argued that if he was going to step down from the government, it would be an easy and expected step. He said the decision to leave was made out of “a lack of national irresponsibility,” and that is amounted to “fleeing from the battlefield in the height of the war.” Smotrich said he intends to turn the deal from a strategic defeat to a tactical loss, so that Israel could return to fight “until the destruction of Hamas, to ensure that the message will reverberate that anyone who kidnaps Jews dies.”
“The supreme goal was and remains a complete victory over Hamas in Gaza,” he added. “The continuation of successful operations that received a lot of divine support last year in all areas of warfare and brought about great achievements, at enormous painful costs.”
“Toppling the government would inevitably lead to the cessation of the war,” Smotrich concluded. “The left would have given [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu a safety net for a few months, only against the commitment to continue to the next stages of the deal and to end the war without destroying Hamas and toppling its rule in Gaza. Our remaining in the government on the condition of working towards victory gives a great chance of success in doing so.”
The post Smotrich Slams Ben Gvir for Leaving Government, Skirting ‘National Responsibility’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Others Join Gaza Film as Executive Producers Before Venice Premiere
Brad Pitt attends the “F1: The Movie” European premiere in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and other high-profile figures in the Hollywood film industry have joined the Gaza-based drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab” as executive producers ahead of its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, Deadline reported.
“The Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer is also joining the film as an executive producer as well as “Roma” director Alfonso Cuaron. Meanwhile, Dede Garner and Jeremy Kleiner from Pitt’s production company Plan B. Britain’s Film4 and the Saudi Arabian state-owned MBC Studio are also supporting the film, according to Deadline.
Written and directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” focuses on the real-life death of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was trapped in a car that had allegedly come under fire by Israeli military forces in the Gaza Strip in January 2024 and later found dead. Israel claimed its military troops were not in the area at the time. The movie is based on real audio recordings of Rajab’s calls to Red Cresent volunteers, who tried to keep her on the line and get an ambulance to help her. Her death sparked global outrage including at Columbia University, where anti-Israel students broke into the academic building Hamilton Hall and symbolically renamed it as Hind’s Hall in April 2024.
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 3 before making its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“I cannot accept a world where a child calls for help and no one comes,” Ben Hania said in a released statement. “That pain, that failure, belongs to all of us. This story is not just about Gaza. It speaks to a universal grief. And I believe that fiction (especially when it draws from verified, painful, real events) is cinema’s most powerful tool. More powerful than the noise of breaking news or the forgetfulness of scrolling. Cinema can preserve a memory … May Hind Rajab’s voice be heard.”
Ben Hania’s film “Four Daughters” was nominated for an Oscar last year and her previous project, “The Man Who Sold His Skin,” was selected as the Tunisian entry for best international feature film at the Academy Awards in 2021.
The 82nd Venice Film Festival opened on Wednesday, almost six weeks to the second anniversary of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7 2023, that resulted in the murder of 1,200 people while 251 were taken as hostages back to Gaza. The festival ends Sept. 6.
Hundreds of Italian and international artists signed an open letter calling on the Venice Film Festival to condemn what they claim is Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Israel has adamantly denied the charge, noting it’s targeting a terrorist group in Gaza that tries to embed itself among the civilian population to create more casualties.
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New Play About Establishment of Israel During Truman’s Presidency to Make World Premiere Off-Broadway in October
US President Harry Truman receives a menorah gifted by visiting Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion and Abba Eban, Israel’s envoy to Washington. Photo: National Photo Collection of Israel / Government Press Office
A play about the creation of the Jewish state during the administration of US President Harry Truman is set to make its world premiere Off-Broadway in New York City in October.
From playwright Willian Spatz and director Randy White, “Truman vs. Israel: Abzug and the Undressing of Truman” will play at the Theatre at St. Clements with a preview on Oct. 9 before officially opening on Oct. 16. Its limited run will end on Jan. 4, 2026. The play is produced by Greenhouse Theater Center
“President Harry S. Truman’s unlikely rise to power led to one of history’s most pivotal moments: the founding of Israel. In [the play] he faces the sharp mind and relentless questioning of trailblazing lawyer Bella Abzug, as the truth behind one of his most consequential decisions comes to light,” reads a synopsis of the play provided by Playbill. “This gripping new play strips away the layers of legacy, power, and politics to reveal the man behind the presidency. Smart and provocative — this is history in the hot seat.”
The cast includes Willy Falk, who will play Truman, Sasha Eden, as Bella Abzug, Matt Caplan and Mark Lotito. Falk created the role of Chris in the original Broadway production of “Miss Saigon.” He has also appeared in the plays “Les Misérables” and “Marilyn,” and recently in the HBO series “And Just Like That….”
“Truman is just a compelling character,” White said in a statement cited by Playbill. “A man at the center of so many consequential decisions, and getting it from all sides. But claiming to have no regrets. So, when a young Bella Abzug shows up – eager to make her mark as a young lawyer – the interrogation begins. ‘Truman vs. Israel’ is like a fabulous (in all senses) and riveting first draft of history.”
In 1947, Truman supported the idea of partitioning what was then known as the Palestine Mandate under British administration into Jewish and Arab territories. On May 14, 1948, Truman was the first world leader to officially recognize Israel as a legitimate Jewish state, only eleven minutes after David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel.
Abzug was a Jewish lawyer from the Bronx, New York, and a Columbia Law School graduate who served three terms in the US Congress, where she introduced and supported legislation about economic and military aid to Israel. She was the first Jewish woman to be elected to the House of Representatives and fought heavily to reverse the 1975 UN resolution that defined Zionism as a form of racism. The resolution was eventually revoked in December 1991.
When she was younger, as part of the Zionist youth group Hashomer Hatzir, Abzug helped raised money to build a Jewish state in the land of Israel. One of her fundraising tactics was to lecture about Zionism at New York City subway stops, according to the Center for Israel Education.
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Shawn Mendes Calls Out Antisemitism Amid Israel-Hamas War During Concert in Portugal
Shawn Mendes poses on the red carpet for the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards at Manchester Co-op Live in Manchester, Britain, Nov. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mina Kim
Canadian singer Shawn Mendes said during his concert on Thursday night at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, Portugal, that the suffering Palestinians are facing in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war is not an excuse for targeting Jews with hatred.
“What’s been happening in Gaza has been absolutely breaking my heart, and turning pain and suffering into hatred towards Jewish people as a whole is wrong,” the Grammy-nominated artist told the audience at his show. “Turning pain and suffering into hatred, period, is wrong and it’s not the way.”
“I really believe in our generation,” added Mendes, who is Portuguese. “I feel like it’s our generation’s job to learn from the wisdom of our parents and grandparents but also learn from the mistakes of those generations. The future is truly in our hands and I feel like it’s our responsibility to stop these cycles of pain and to choose love.”
Mendes is not Jewish and this is seemingly the singer’s first time speaking out about antisemitism and the Israel-Hamas war.