Former Labor Leader Eli Goldschmidt Launches Right-Wing Party Advocating Israeli Sovereignty West of the Jordan River
Eli Goldschmidt, a former senior figure in Israel's Labor Party, has launched a new political path on the right, sharply criticizing the left-wing party 'The Democrats' led by Yair Golan. Goldschmidt denounces the party as anti-democratic and likens its leadership to a dictatorship, citing Golan's threats to ban a major Israeli news channel and his intention to cut funding to a pre-military academy whose graduates have died defending Israel since October 7. He also condemns Golan's calls to "re-educate" religious Zionism and dismisses the recent surge in left-wing enthusiasm as media-driven rather than reflecting broad public support.
Goldschmidt asserts that the historic Labor Party has effectively died, having abandoned its founding values of settlement, security, immigration absorption, and respect for Judaism. He contrasts the original Labor ethos, which built Israel’s agricultural and water infrastructure, with the current 'Democrats' who he says promote anti-Zionist rhetoric and include figures who support refusal to serve in the military and defend terrorists. He emphasizes that the Labor Party once embraced pluralism within Zionism, but the new left-wing party has lost this identity.
Having founded a new party called 'Israel Awakens,' Goldschmidt positions himself to the right of Dr. Einat Wilf’s new party and declines offers to be placed on the Likud list, despite his respect for Prime Minister Netanyahu. He aims to pass the electoral threshold independently and is open to future alliances, hoping to strengthen the national camp and enable a stable coalition under Netanyahu’s leadership.
On the sensitive issue of Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, Goldschmidt advocates applying Israeli sovereignty from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea while acknowledging the demographic reality of a significant Arab population in the area. He rejects both apartheid and full Palestinian statehood, proposing a complex solution involving Jordanian citizenship and representation for West Bank Arabs, alongside Israeli sovereignty and security control. He references historical ideas such as Yigal Allon’s vision and the London Agreement, emphasizing the need for American support and Jordanian cooperation.
Goldschmidt calls for erasing the Green Line, viewing all Jewish settlements in the West Bank as legitimate and integral to Israel’s future. He stresses that Jewish settlement there is mostly on land without Arab residents, contrasting this with areas inside Israel proper. His vision is for a united Israel with secure borders and a renewed commitment to settlement as a national imperative.
