Tamir Dortel Proposes Technical Union of Small Right-Wing Parties to Prevent Vote Loss
Tamir Dortel, media figure and host of the podcast "On Meaning," challenges the common claim that the proliferation of small right-wing parties risks losing votes for the bloc. In an interview with Channel 7, he argues that the real problem lies in Israel's electoral system and the high electoral threshold, not the small parties themselves. Dortel has been advocating for electoral reform for over four years, but only now, amid heated concerns about vote loss, has his proposal gained traction.
His plan goes beyond lowering the threshold; it includes multi-party surplus vote agreements that would preserve votes cast for lists failing to pass the threshold. Dortel emphasizes that blaming small party founders is misguided, stating, "We should blame the system, not the megalomaniacs." He explains that a high threshold disproportionately strengthens medium-sized parties and prevents the emergence of small parties with one or two mandates that could compete and offer coalition-building options.
Dortel describes the current situation as a "cartel of parties," where established parties hold an inherent advantage over newcomers. He also addresses criticism of Ofer Winter's new party, suggesting that instead of discouraging Winter from running, opponents should debate his positions and experience. Recognizing that changing the threshold before the upcoming elections is impractical, Dortel is now promoting a technical union of small right-wing parties. This would allow them to run under a single ballot without sacrificing their distinct identities or platforms.
Among the figures Dortel hopes to include are Ofer Winter, Moshe Feiglin, Avi Maoz, Gilad Erdan, and Amir Avivi, who recently retired. The idea is to run "five different campaigns with five different goals but the same ballot," without a unified platform or forced compromise. To advance this, Dortel plans to conduct a poll through the activism group "Intervention Power" to assess each party's strength and determine their placement on the joint list accordingly.
Dortel rejects the notion that many small parties give individual MKs excessive power over the prime minister or coalition center. He argues the opposite: multiple small parties reduce each one's bargaining power while increasing that of the larger party. He cites the previous government and the influence of MKs Amichai Shikli and Idit Silman as examples. Additionally, he points to political boycotts among large parties as weakening them and enabling small parties willing to cooperate across blocs to become kingmakers.
Dortel is confident that small parties will eventually unite, noting talks between Avi Maoz and Moshe Feiglin and Avivi's retirement. He believes Winter may join such a union and even suggests that Bezalel Smotrich might need to consider joining later. However, Dortel sharply criticizes Winter's political entry, saying, "We hardly know anything about Winter," and calls on him to present a detailed platform and engage in in-depth interviews. He stresses that being new is not a sufficient reason to support a candidate, stating, "He's not a Galaxy S26, he's a person." Dortel believes this election will place significant weight on podcast interviews, where politicians face extended, less scripted questioning, which Winter must embrace to clarify his positions and candidacy.
