MK Rotman Urges Right-Wing Parties to Unite Ahead of Elections
Member of Knesset (MK) Simcha Rotman has issued a strong appeal to national camp parties, urging them to unite before the final deadline for submitting candidate lists to prevent vote wastage. Rotman, who chairs the Constitution Committee, warned in an interview with Arutz 7 that independent runs by smaller parties are a "gamble" that could cost the right-wing bloc the election.
Rotman explained that his party, Religious Zionism, is delaying its list submission until the next day to keep the door open for further mergers. "We are calling until the last moment for all the national camp parties to come to their senses, not to run as party fragments, to come strong before the voter, so there will be no loss of votes," he stated, recalling past elections where the right lost despite winning more votes due to parties falling below the electoral threshold.
He specifically addressed retired Brigadier General Ofir Winter, referencing his party's merger with Moshe Feiglin's Zehut party as proof of their commitment to unity. Rotman acknowledged that Winter might attract new right-wing voters but reiterated the danger of splitting the vote, citing the 2019 election where the New Right party, led by Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, failed to pass the threshold despite strong poll numbers. "This gamble is too dangerous. Too many times it has ended in great disappointment for the State of Israel and the national camp," Rotman asserted.
Rotman also criticized Naftali Bennett's new party list, suggesting it has shifted to the left. He contrasted Bennett's current list, which he claimed lacks any religious Zionist representation apart from Bennett himself, with his past attempts to appeal to the religious Zionist base. "Everyone understands that this will move the State of Israel backward and set the judicial reform back forty, fifty years," Rotman warned, emphasizing the need to complete the judicial reform process.
Addressing concerns about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu potentially forming a broad government with Benny Gantz and excluding the Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties, Rotman stated that the only way to ensure a right-wing government is for Religious Zionism to be as large as possible. He cited past instances where his party stood firm against forming coalitions with figures like Mansour Abbas, asserting, "Only Bezalel Smotrich and Religious Zionism can be relied upon to form a right-wing government."
