Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir was not invited to a closed election-strategy conference Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich are holding tomorrow with dozens of rabbanim and heads of Torah institutions in Jerusalem, under the heading "Saving the Right".
According to a report this morning (Wednesday) on Kan Reshet Bet, the closed gathering is set to take place at the Orient Hotel in Jerusalem and is intended to focus on preparations for the 2026 elections, division of labor, and ways to maximize voter turnout in the right-wing bloc. According to the report, Ben Gvir was not even aware the conference was taking place until Kan News contacted him for comment.
The exclusion comes against the backdrop of ongoing tensions between Ben Gvir and Netanyahu. The report noted that the two have not held a private conversation in recent weeks, aside from meetings in broader forums, and that Otzma Yehudit views the recent conduct as another sign of distancing between the sides and further proof that Netanyahu is planning to form a broad government with Gadi Eisenkot without Otzma Yehudit.
The conference is also taking place after Netanyahu and Smotrich signed a surplus-vote agreement this week ahead of the elections, while Otzma Yehudit remains at this stage without a surplus-vote deal.
