Israeli minister calls for implementation of Jewish law

Israel's Minister of Communications, Betzalel Smutritich, has reacted strongly to the opposition, saying that the Israelis want to live in a country ruled by the Torah and Jewish law.

"I spoke in a room full of people from all walks of Jewish religious life, and I said we all wanted to live in a country ruled by the Torah and the Jewish law," Smutritch said in a blog post on Facebook. "This is the religious will of any religious Jew."

"But at the same time, I stressed that we all understand that we can not, and do not want to impose our beliefs on others, because we do not live here alone and we must do everything possible to find solutions that take into account the entire public."

Smotrich's presentation was an explanation of remarks made at a religious conference, which carried the same content and provoked angry reactions among the Israeli opposition in the right and center.

"If it is up to him and his friends, this will replace Israeli law," said former defense minister and head of Yisrael Beiteinu party, Avigdor Lieberman, in a copy of his Facebook account on Monday evening.