Rabbis Urge Former IDF General Ofer Winter to Unite with Right-Wing Party
Dozens of Religious Zionist rabbis have issued an urgent appeal to retired 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, arguing that unity is paramount and "it is forbidden to take risks when it concerns all of Israel."
The letter was signed by numerous rabbis from the religious community, including Rabbi David Pindal, 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 of these efforts is to prevent a scenario where either Winter's party 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 the calls for unification, with the deadline for list submissions looming.
