Ayelet Shaked Warns Political Partners of Challenges in Crossing Electoral Threshold

Former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has cautioned her political partners about the difficulties of running independently in upcoming elections, emphasizing the challenge of surpassing the electoral threshold. Amid talks of a joint run involving Benny Gantz, Dedi Simchi, Yuli Edelstein, and Shaked herself, she warned that the path to the Knesset is far more complex than it appears. According to a report by Walla, Shaked stressed that her partners underestimate the effort required to mobilize a voter base and clear the threshold, drawing from her own painful experiences in 2019 and 2022.

Shaked recalled her 2019 departure from the Jewish Home party alongside Naftali Bennett to form the New Right party. Despite holding senior ministerial roles and enjoying strong poll support, the party narrowly failed to enter the Knesset, missing the threshold by a small margin. A similar outcome occurred in the 2022 elections when Shaked led the Jewish Home party but again failed to secure enough votes for parliamentary representation. Her warnings aim to ensure that her new partners fully grasp the political obstacles ahead as they consider forming a new alliance.