Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud) appeared Tuesday evening on Channel 14’s “The Patriots” program, addressing a range of issues that included the possibility of rebuilding Jewish communities in the Gaza region.
During the show, the prime minister was asked about remarks made by Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism) on Monday that preparations are underway to restore Jewish life to Gaza.
Smotrich had said that Israel has prepared plans to establish three Jewish communities in Gaza, and all that is missing to move forward with the project is the prime minister’s approval.
Smotrich administers the department within the defense ministry responsible for Jewish life in the territories and has used this position to significantly expand Jewish life in the West Bank. He now clearly aims to fulfill the 20-year-old dreams of many Jews to return to Gaza.
In the summer of 2005, United States President George W. Bush forced then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to implement the Disengagement plan that forcibly expelled nearly 10,000 Jews from their homes in Gaza and the northern West Bank.
Despite losing the struggle to resist the Disengagement, many Jews held onto the hope that the people of Israel would one day return and reverse the injustice.
Smotrich, who represents the tribe in Israeli society most determined to return to Gaza, called on Netanyahu to “give the approval” in order to “complete the mission and restore true security for the residents of the south.”
The finance minister’s statements came after a meeting with Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi during a tour of Gaza-border communities to review rehabilitation projects for areas devastated by the brutal Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Simḥat Torah of 2023.
Smotrich said that the Israeli military should take more than the 70 percent of Gaza that it currently holds and that a Jewish civilian presence in the strip could serve as a security belt for the area, echoing the logic of the Israeli officials who had established Jewish communities throughout Gaza in the 1970s and 80s.
Netanyahu avoided directly addressing Smotrich’s comments or any potential plans to restore Jewish life to Gaza, but offered some constructive criticism for those Jews seeking to return.
“The big question is, do you need to act or to speak? First and foremost, you need to be prepared to act and to speak, and sometimes it is best to separate the two. Therefore, I will not add anything further on this matter.”
The prime minister further explained that diplomatic decision-making requires taking the international game into account.
“The art of diplomatic navigation is not confined to the domestic arena. We are a nation challenged by an international community facing terrible waves of anti-Semitism, and we must act prudently.”
“I think I bring a great deal of proven experience to this field,” he added.
“That means choosing precisely the areas where you must stand your ground against the world. Where you can say yes to friends, say yes. Where you need to say no, stand up for your interests. I believe we proved this just now in Lebanon. I do not have to defy the entire world at all times and at every single moment.”
Smotrich would do well to heed Netanyahu’s advice. In fact, the finance minister’s biggest weakness is how ignorant (or uncaring) he is when it comes the international arena.
This is actually common amongst Smotrich’s sociopolitical tribe, which can generally be understood as the sector of Israeli society most deeply rooted in the Jewish people’s identity, history, and meta-narrative.
But this camp is also fairly provincial and ignorant of the world outside Israel’s borders, and sees Israeli efforts to “explain ourselves” to the international community as a sign of internal weakness.
This could be attributed to the fact that most of the Israelis and pro-Israel Diaspora Jews who try to influence global public opinion in Israel’s favor generally tend to compromise on the real Jewish struggle and on the things that have been important to our people for thousands of years. It therefore makes sense that those Jews most committed to our historic aspirations would relate to public diplomacy efforts as expressions of weakness.
But public diplomacy needn’t compromise on our people’s true identity, story, or historic aspirations.
Israel needs leaders who both appreciate the importance of the international game and are unwilling to compromise on what’s most important to our national story. Leaders internally connected to our people’s deepest yearnings yet capable of communicating those aspirations in a language comprehensible to the outside world.
This is the message that Smotrich should take from the prime minister. Not to give up on the struggle to return to Gaza but to learn the international game well enough to know how to return in such a way that meets the least amount of opposition – that allows the relevant international players to swallow the fact that Israel is reversing the Disengagement.
And if Smotrich were to truly take this advice to heart, he’d likely come to the conclusion that a Jewish return to Gaza can most likely be achieved if it can offer a better future for Gazan Palestinians.
