Bereaved Families Urge Ofer Winter to Unite Right-Wing Parties

Hours before the Knesset candidate lists were due, families of terror victims and those bereaved by terror attacks sent a dramatic public appeal to retired Brigadier General Ofer Winter. Winter is heading the "Am Yisrael" party.

The families urged Winter to either form a technical bloc with other right-wing parties or withdraw his candidacy to prevent a split in the right-wing vote that could cause parties to fall below the electoral threshold.

They warned that such a division could repeat the "scenario of the 1992 elections," when a similar split on the right led to the left-wing's ascent to power and the subsequent Oslo Accords. The families stated they were speaking from personal experience, having lost loved ones in terror attacks that followed the Oslo Accords, which they described as a "national disaster" and a "terrible betrayal."

"Don't play Russian roulette with our country's life," the families implored Winter. "You have no right, moral or otherwise, to gamble with the lives of millions of Jews to test your strength." They proposed that if Winter believes in his ability to make a difference, he should first form a technical bloc with other right-wing parties, and only after the elections, if necessary, could the factions split.

The letter was signed by numerous parents and spouses of terror victims, including the parents of Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, the parents of Yehuda Dimantman, and the parents of Rabbi Achiad Ettinger.