Smotrich Says He Cut Short Polling Tour to Convene Emergency Campaign Meeting

Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday afternoon, October 27, that he had interrupted his polling-station tour to convene an emergency meeting at campaign headquarters. In a statement posted at 15:28 Israel time, he linked the decision to information he said he had received about unusually high voting participation in Arab communities. "This is an emergency for the right and the national camp," Smotrich said. He claimed that Arab-sector turnout was at a 53-year high and argued that this could prevent smaller right-wing parties from crossing the electoral threshold. He did not identify the source of that assessment or provide exact turnout figures in the statement. Smotrich urged supporters to vote immediately and to choose parties that he said would certainly cross the threshold. He promoted Religious Zionism and its Hebrew ballot letter, ט. His announcement described a meeting being convened, without naming its participants, identifying the headquarters' location or reporting any decisions taken there. The announcement followed earlier direct outreach to voters that day. At 12:10, Smotrich said he was receiving many phone calls and asked supporters to put him in contact with undecided relatives and friends. At 13:02, he posted from a polling station in Ra’anana. The afternoon statement marked a change from those activities to a headquarters discussion; it did not set out a further campaign timetable.