Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected calls by National Union leader MK Bezalel Smotrich to govern Israel according to Jewish law.
"Israel will not become a state of Halachah [Jewish law,]" Netanyahu said.
Yair Lapid, co-leader of the centrist Blue and White party, also lashed out at Smotrich, who is seeking the justice portfolio.
"No, no, we won't let this pass. There won't be a state here ruled by Halachah," Lapid said.
Smotrich said Monday that "the Jewish people will want [it]. They'll see how the law of the Torah is correct and just and moral and humane. Israel will go back to being run as it was during the days of King David and King Solomon – according to the law of the Torah."
Yisrael Beytenu leader and former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman compared Smotrich to the "delusional hilltop youths" in Jewish settlements, and warned that Smotrich meant what he said.
"This is a statement of intent," Lieberman said.
Leader of the left-wing Meretz party Tamar Zandberg said that Smotrich's remarks had "removed the mask" and uncovered his "insane vision," which she compared to "a theocracy in the vein of 'The Handmaid's Tale" [TV series].
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
