Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in Jerusalem on March 5, 2023. GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AP
The quality of the soundproofing at the Grand Hyatt hotel in central Washington or the floor where Bezalel Smotrich resided this weekend is not known. But the Israeli finance minister must have heard the crowd gathering on the sidewalk. And one word, shouted out loud, also written on the signs: “Shame! This Sunday, March 12, a few hundred people gathered to protest the visit of this far-right, openly racist figure. A figure who embodies religious nationalism and enforces its vision and projects in Binyamin Netanyahu’s new government.
On the scale of Washington and the usual demonstrations by Jewish diaspora organizations, attendance was significant. She wanted to be a distant and unified echo of the historic mobilization in the Israeli streets, which has rallied for weeks against the right-wing attempt to crush the Supreme Court. Aside from the police presence, the hotel lobby was filled with nervous security guards scrutinizing each new arrival. In one of the conference rooms, the Israeli minister was the guest of honor from the Israel Bonds organization, which promotes the purchase of government bonds. The organization congratulates itself on having raised 48 billion dollars (45 billion euros) for Israel in its history and in a press release resists any party involvement. But his guest has become rare.
connecting element
Even the arrival of Bezalel Smotrich in the country was questioned. The State Department considered the possibility of not granting him an official visa before waiving it because of his comments about the Palestinian village of Hawara, which he wanted to “wipe off the map”. Smotrich offered an unconvincing apology. “It happens to everyone,” he wrote on Twitter, to use harsh words. Almost all Jewish organizations have refused any contact with the minister, including those that normally respect neutrality on partisan issues.
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The figure of Smotrichs served as a unifying element for those dozens of Jewish organizations that reject his purely religious, intolerant, and radical understanding of Judaism. But apart from the personality of the new minister, they do not necessarily agree on the link to be made between the Israeli right’s assault on the rule of law and the issue of occupation in the West Bank, which is increasingly a de facto issue of annexation. Some only want to tackle the first one so as not to tear themselves apart again.
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