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A sharp internal dispute erupted within the Religious Zionism Party after Finance Minister and party chairman Betzalel Smotrich removed MK Moshe Solomon from all Knesset committees on which he serves as a representative of the faction, following Solomon’s vote against the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study.

The disciplinary measure came after Solomon broke with the party line during a Knesset vote earlier in the day, opposing legislation that the faction had agreed to support at this stage of the legislative process.

Sources close to Smotrich said the move was prompted by what they viewed as a blatant breach of party discipline. According to party officials, Solomon did not object during faction discussions in which members agreed to support the bill in its current reading. The party’s position was to back the legislation while working later in the legislative process to remove a controversial provision equating Torah learners with active IDF servicemen. After Solomon voted against the measure despite that agreement, party leaders decided to impose immediate sanctions by stripping him of his committee assignments.

Solomon refused to retract his vote or apologize, insisting that his decision was driven by deeply held convictions that outweighed political considerations.

In a statement posted on X, Solomon confirmed the move against him.

“I was informed a short time ago that the Religious Zionism faction and its chairman have decided to remove me from membership on all Knesset committees,” he wrote. “It pains me that this decision was made. I am part of Religious Zionism, and I will remain part of Religious Zionism.”

The lawmaker said he has consistently expressed the same position since the start of the war and believes he is representing the values of the public that elected him.

“In my view, and as I have said everywhere since the outbreak of the war, I represent the values of Religious Zionism and those who sent us. Of course there are disagreements—whether over the interpretation of a law, political conduct, or public policy decisions. But I am convinced that my colleagues in Religious Zionism also would not have wanted this bill brought to a vote, and they believe they are representing our public.”

Solomon emphasized that while he remains loyal to the faction and its collective decisions, he also sees himself as accountable to the broader public.

“I am loyal to the faction and to joint decisions. At the same time, I am a public servant. I cannot betray my conscience. I cannot look into the eyes of bereaved families from our Religious Zionist community and vote in favor of a law that says there is no need to combine Torah and military service.”

He said that accompanying the funerals of numerous students and graduates of hesder yeshivos, higher yeshivos, and pre-military academies during the war left a lasting impression on him.

“As I accompanied dozens of students and graduates of hesder yeshivos, higher yeshivos, and pre-military academies to burial throughout the war, I promised myself that I would not take part in what I see as such an eternal moral wrong. If this is the price I have to pay, then so be it. I accept the decision of the party chairman, and I hope I will be able to change the faction’s position in the future.”

He concluded his statement by citing the Talmudic teaching: “Those who are insulted but do not insult others, who hear their disgrace and do not respond, who act out of love and rejoice in suffering—about them the verse says: ‘And those who love Him shall be as the sun when it goes forth in its might.’”

{Matzav.com}

A heated diplomatic dispute erupted at the United Nations after Colombian President Gustavo Petro used a Security Council address to draw comparisons to Nazism, prompting fierce condemnation from Israeli officials who accused him of distorting Holocaust history and fueling antisemitic rhetoric.

Petro’s appearance before the Security Council drew immediate criticism from Israel, with officials objecting both to the content of his remarks and to the UN providing a platform for what they described as inflammatory rhetoric.

During his speech, the Colombian leader repeatedly referenced Nazi Germany while discussing current international issues, including migration and the conflict in Gaza. His comments came just days after he generated controversy by posting “Heil Hitler” on X, drawing widespread condemnation from critics around the world.

Addressing the Security Council, Petro declared: “That’s what makes missiles rain down on people, on babies. 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza. Those numbers cannot be hidden. And that is the real red thread of what I’m going to say here: We’re going back to the era of the Nazis.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, responded with a sharply worded statement condemning both Petro’s remarks and the broader use of Nazi analogies in contemporary political discourse.

“The United Nations Security Council was not created to serve as a stage for bizarre ideological rants and the dangerous distortion of Holocaust history. Giving legitimacy to rhetoric that recklessly manipulates the memory of Nazism dishonors the victims of the Holocaust and undermines the credibility of this institution. There is a profound moral difference between serious diplomatic debate and the casual, repeated abuse of Nazi comparisons for political provocation. When world leaders invoke Hitler and Goebbels to attack political opponents or democratic states, they erode the historical truth of the Holocaust and fuel dangerous antisemitic discourse. Pedro – You should be ashamed of your remarks!”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also lashed out at the Colombian president, accusing him of antisemitism and of repeatedly diminishing the significance of the Holocaust through such comparisons.

“The disgraced outgoing President of Colombia is a stain on his great nation. This antisemite is systematically trivializing the memory of the Holocaust. He is a communist that ruined his great country. Soon, he will be history.”

{Matzav.com}