In a new documentary, Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich detailed his desire to conquer not only all Palestinian territory to the Jordan River but also the Syrian capital of Damascus and territories extending as far as Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
Smotrich, the Finance Minister in the Israeli cabinet and head of the Religious Zionism party, made the comments in a recently released documentary entitled Israel: Extremists in Power. The documentary was produced by Arte Reportage, a Franco-German broadcast news magazine.
When asked about his goal, Smotrich tells the interviewer,
“I want a Jewish state … It is a country run according to the values of the Jewish people.”
The interviewer then asked Smotrich whether he thought the borders of the Jewish state should extend past the Jordan River. Smotrich responded by saying,
“Absolutely, but slowly … Our great religious elders used to say that the future of Jerusalem was to extend as far as Damascus.”
The documentary narrator then added,
“Bezalel Smotrich has a maximalist vision of the promised land. And it includes all Palestinian lands, but also territories in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt. Even in Saudi Arabia. A radical vision admittedly, but one that is accepted in public debate in Israel.”
In an insulated section of my brain, the Lion of Damascus breaking Israel would be funny. As if Bashar al-Assad were power scaled to be equal to a Russian winter. But of course, there is no moment too soon for Israel to stop its illegal occupation, genocide, and warmongering.