Keren Terner, a former director general of the Finance and Transportation Ministries and now a candidate for Naftali Bennett’s party, said in an interview with Radio 103FM that the main goal is to replace the government, even if political unity efforts do not materialize. She tried to calm concerns about tensions at the top and possible future alliances, saying, “I do not know if we will unite, but the ego, both of Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett, will not stand in the way of replacing the government. Many people are worried that we missed it in 2022 because we did not come as a single front. That will not happen, and we will replace this government.”
Alongside the focus on Eisenkot, the campaign is also directing sharp criticism at the ultra-Orthodox parties and their leaders. According to the party’s official line, ultra-Orthodox leadership has spent years systematically building a separate political and budgetary autonomy, effectively creating “a state within a state” and channeling large sums of public money.
As part of the party’s program for the next government, it is demanding a structural change in the rules. Any future funding or state budget support for ultra-Orthodox educational institutions would be tied to a full transition to the state education framework and mandatory inclusion of core curriculum and civics studies.
