Israel Beytenu Excludes Yamina Members Like Ayelet Shaked From Upcoming Knesset List

With less than four months until the Israeli elections, Israel Beytenu is undergoing a strategic transformation, recruiting new candidates from the religious Zionist sector. Despite good personal relations between Yamina members Ayelet Shaked and Abir Kara with party leader Avigdor Lieberman and faction head Oded Forer, the party's CEO, Ina Zilbergartz, has made it clear in private discussions that former Yamina members will not be included in Israel Beytenu's Knesset list for the upcoming elections.

This decision comes as Israel Beytenu aims to reposition itself as the "old Likud," incorporating new candidates such as Sharon Sharabi and Rafi Ben Shitrit, both affiliated with the religious Zionist community. Sharabi, who wears a kippah and is the brother of Yossi Sharabi, killed in Hamas captivity, and Ben Shitrit, a former Likud mayor and founder of the "October Council," both joined the party recently. Ben Shitrit lost his son in the October 7 conflict and has since advocated for a state inquiry into the massacre.

Shaked and Kara have both indicated they are considering a political comeback, with Shaked explicitly stating she will not return through Naftali Bennett's new party, which she no longer views as right-wing after its alliance with opposition leader Yair Lapid. Israel Beytenu's new list will be unveiled at a special event, continuing the party's evolution from its original immigrant-focused identity to a broader right-wing platform.

The party's leadership is deliberately shifting focus away from internal competition within the right-wing bloc, instead targeting new voter segments including religious, Mizrahi, and peripheral communities. This strategic pivot aims to capture decisive mandates in the upcoming elections by appealing to a wider and more diverse electorate.