Religious Zionist Faction Risks Splitting Right-Wing Bloc and Empowering Left
The Religious Zionist parties within Israel's right-wing bloc face a critical challenge as internal divisions threaten to weaken their political influence. Historically the smallest and most fragmented segment of the right, these parties insist on maintaining separate identities and competing factions despite their limited electoral strength, which ranges between seven and eight Knesset seats. This fragmentation echoes similar patterns seen on the left, where failure to unite previously cost them votes and handed victories to the right.
Prominent right-wing figures like Bezalel Smotrich have demonstrated that unity is essential for electoral success, as seen when Smotrich's faction passed the electoral threshold while others like Naftali Bennett struggled alone. Attempts by smaller factions such as Otzma Yehudit and others to run independently have resulted in lost mandates, weakening the overall right-wing coalition. The article warns that this ongoing division, driven by personal and sectoral egos rather than ideology, risks delivering power to the left-wing camp.
The Religious Zionist sector is also criticized for overestimating its political leverage and courting left-wing support, despite empirical evidence that larger parties like Likud and the ultra-Orthodox factions hold significantly more seats. The article cautions against illusions of political grandeur and warns that collaboration with left-wing leaders like Meretz's MK Yair Golan or Yair Lapid could backfire, given past conflicts over settlement policies.
The piece calls for urgent consolidation of the Religious Zionist factions into a single technical bloc, encompassing all subgroups from Michael Ben-Ari to Smotrich and even Winter, to prevent further electoral damage. It highlights the right-wing public's patience with past mistakes but stresses that continued fragmentation could lead to the left taking power and appointing figures like Yair Golan to key ministerial roles, a scenario the right-wing electorate would not tolerate.
In conclusion, the Religious Zionist sector must overcome internal rivalries and unite to maintain its influence within the right-wing bloc and avoid handing the government to the left.
