Rabbis Urge Former IDF General Ofer Winter to Unite with Right-Wing Party

Dozens of Religious Zionist rabbis have issued an urgent appeal to former Brigadier General Ofer Winter, urging him to unite with a right-wing party ahead of the upcoming Knesset elections. The appeal comes just one day before the deadline for submitting party lists for the 26th Knesset.

"We call on Ofer Winter to take responsibility and act promptly to continue the important work of the Religious Zionism party chairman, Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in uniting the right-wing camp," the rabbis stated in a letter. They emphasized the significant dangers facing all of Israel, adding, "Unity is always good, especially when great dangers lie ahead for all of Israel. Better safe than sorry. We must not take risks when it concerns all of Israel."

The letter was signed by numerous rabbis from the religious community, including Rabbi David Fendel, head of the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva, and Rabbi Yehuda Sadon, head of the Eli High Yeshiva.

Winter has been under pressure throughout the past week to merge with a right-wing party. The goal is to prevent a scenario where either he or Smotrich's Religious Zionism party fails to cross the electoral threshold, thereby losing potential mandates for the right-wing bloc. As of now, Winter has not yet responded to these calls for unity, with the deadline for list submissions looming.