Protest Flowers Sent to Ofer Winter's Home Amid Election Split

Right-wing activists placed a bouquet of flowers at the home of Ofer Winter, chairman of the "Am Israel" party, in protest of his decision to run independently in the upcoming elections. The flowers were accompanied by a note signed "Sincerely, Gali Baharav-Miara," the Attorney General, in an apparent attempt to suggest Winter's independent run could harm the right-wing bloc. The protest follows days of pressure on Winter to unite with other right-wing parties.

Despite these efforts, Winter submitted his party's list to the Knesset, signaling his intention to compete independently. Bezalel Smotrich, chairman of the Religious Zionism party, criticized Winter, stating that only "Gali Baharav-Miara and Yitzhak Amit and their friends on the left" would benefit from Winter's refusal to unite with the national camp. Smotrich added that Winter's "stubborn refusal of any unity proposal in the national camp is very disappointing and casts a heavy shadow over his judgment and the credibility of his promise to recommend Netanyahu for prime minister and to go only with the national camp."

Winter, however, has maintained that his party is part of the right-wing bloc and intends to recommend Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister. He stated, "We are not working for anyone, only for the people of Israel," but emphasized, "We are in the right-wing camp, the leader of the right-wing camp is Netanyahu and only him will we recommend." Winter has also set conditions for joining a future Netanyahu-led government, including the passage of a conscription law before the government is sworn in, and stated that his party is open to political alliances only with "new" partners.