Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich said on Wednesday that he will work to expel citizens who fail to recognize that "the country of Israel belongs to the people of Israel" in a message posted to Twitter.
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The tweet was apparently in response to a comment by Joint Arab List lawmaker Ahmad Tibi, who allegedly disparaged Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu during an interview earlier in the day, calling him "human garbage."
Tibi apparently took the opportunity to rail against Eliyahu after learning that the rabbi had penned a letter to Ra'am chief Mansour Abbas, expressing hope that the two sides could cooperate together.
"There is tolerance between religions, but that man represents the opposite. This rabbi is a trash can, a racist, human garbage," said Tibi.
"I'm calling him out, I want to denigrate him. A rabbi is not supposed to talk this way, and a Sheikh who would speak this way about Jews should also be condemned," he continued.
"He is denigrating Muslims, Arabs, religion. Only because he wants to protect this government, he is ready for a one-time exception. What that rabbi says is human trash."
Eliyahu has reportedly made controversial anti-Arab statements in the past, including a demand that Muslims recognize Israel as the land of the Jewish people and issuing a decree prohibiting Jewish-owned property in Safed to be sold to Arabs.
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Shortly after the comments hit the airwaves, Smotrich took to social media, where he posted: "Ahmad, a true Muslim must know that the Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, and for a long time Arabs like you who do not recognize this will not stay here. Rabbi Shmuel and tens of thousands of his students, including us, will take care of it."
In response, Tibi said it brings him "joy" to know that Smotrich and his right-wing allies will have to rely on Arab support to form the next government, before writing in German that he is a "racist."
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
