Noam Party Leader Blames Others for Election Failure, Demands Right-Wing Soul-Searching
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Avi Maoz, chairman of the Noam party, is demanding right-wing parties conduct a "soul-searching" after his party failed to enter the Knesset with only 10,000 votes. Maoz blamed other parties for sabotaging unification efforts and rejected responsibility for lost mandates. He highlighted Noam's success in raising Jewish identity issues during the campaign, despite the electoral disappointment. The party will continue its work on Jewish identity, education, and family values, and remains open to future alliances.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Noam party chairman Avi Maoz called for right-wing parties to conduct a "soul-searching" after his party's electoral failure.
- Maoz blamed other parties for sabotaging his attempts to form a unified list before the elections.
- He rejected claims that Noam's independent run caused a loss of mandates for the right-wing bloc.
- Maoz stated that Noam succeeded in bringing Jewish identity and education issues to the forefront of the campaign.
- The Noam party received approximately 10,000 votes and failed to cross the electoral threshold.
- Maoz confirmed that his party remains open to future political alliances.
Avi Maoz, chairman of the Noam party, has called for a reckoning among right-wing parties following his party's failure to cross the electoral threshold in the recent elections, receiving only about 10,000 votes. In his first interview since the results, Maoz acknowledged his party's electoral defeat but rejected claims that Noam was responsible for a loss of mandates for the right-wing bloc. Instead, he accused other parties of sabotaging his attempts to run on a unified list.
Maoz stated that his party is conducting its own internal review but expressed frustration that the public discourse is focused solely on Noam's failure, while larger parties are not being held accountable for the overall decline of the right-wing bloc from 64 to 53 Knesset seats. "Everyone is busy with our soul-searching to avoid their own," he remarked, urging other parties to focus on their own shortcomings.
He refuted the notion that Noam's independent run cost the Netanyahu bloc a mandate, asserting that "nothing happened because of us. Because of us, only we failed." Maoz revealed that he made efforts to unite with other parties, including reaching out to Itamar Ben-Gvir of Otzma Yehudit, who he said deemed a union impractical. Maoz praised Ben-Gvir's honesty in his response, while noting a lack of contact with Bezalel Smotrich of Religious Zionism on the matter.
Maoz also claimed that efforts to lower the electoral threshold, which he proposed to Coalition Chairman Ophir Katz during the previous Knesset term, were blocked to prevent smaller parties like Noam from running independently. He suggested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and figures around Smotrich pressured Noam to withdraw from the race, especially after internal and Channel 14 polls showed a potential rise in support for Noam.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Maoz emphasized that Noam succeeded in bringing issues of Jewish identity and education to the forefront of the election campaign, forcing other right-wing parties to address them. He acknowledged that public sympathy for Noam did not translate into votes, which is a key area of self-examination for the party. Maoz reiterated his commitment to Noam's agenda, including the promotion of Jewish identity, education, and family values, and stated that the party remains open to future political alliances.
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