Some are calling it an “earthquake”, referring to the announced launching of the new “nationalistic Zionist party” led by Naftali Benet, Rabbi Avichai Ronsky and Ayelet Shaked. They announce the party will be the new home for the Zionist youth, religious and non-religious alike. Interestingly, they are not using the words “right-wing”, but are opting to portray the party as “Zionist centrist”.
Benet is a reserve duty officer of the rank of major who served in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, a former head of the Settlement Council and advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu will head the party, which he says remains committed to right-wing unity and providing a home for the ideological youth seeking a party to align with.
Benet used his Facebook page to add “friends – in the coming days we hope to launch the new nationalistic Zionist youth party for religious and non-religious alike. The goal is simple, to bring Zionism back to the center. Our tzibur knows how to lead in all areas; the IDF command, education, garinim (new communities) around the country and chessed organizations. The time has come that we lead in leading the nation as well.
Ronsky is a brigadier-general in the IDF reserves and a former IDF chief rabbi. He was raised secular and became frum after volunteering to the elite navy Shayetet 13 unit. He fought in the Yom Kippur War as a company commander in Sayeret Shaked on the southern front. He learned in Merkaz HaRav was a cofounder of Yeshivat Elon Moreh in 1980. He also authored a number of seforim addressing Halacha and IDF service.
Ayelet Shaked in recent years headed the Yisrael Sheli (My Israel) party which boasts 85,000 members. She was an education officer in her IDF service in Golani, and a bureau chief for Prime Minister Netanyahu in 2006-2008. She is a senior engineer in a high tech firm and lives in Tel Aviv.
Speaking to Kol Chai Radio, Rav Ronsky explains the party will be “to the right of Likud” and provide a home for the many nationalistic voters who simply cannot find a home today. He feels that of the three, he is the political novice but is confident the party will gain momentum among many supporters of Likud who feel the ruling party has not been true to its ideological roots.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
Let’s see, if the “right” of Likud would normally get six seats, and you split it four way the result is that Labor and the other left wing parties get roughly half, and Likud gets the other half.
Indeed… So many leaders… Woe to the ship that has so many captains!
Good luck, you got a winning chance for a few MKs,
too bad they could not convince Moshe Feiglin to join; then they would have something really great.
#1 and #4,
They’re saying that many within the Likud arn’t happy with the Likud, so they’re hoping that this kind of “right of Likud” will take seats from the likud itself.
And that’s why they didn’t include Feigkin, since he’s openly religious and messianic about Zionism, and they’re trying to atract the non-religous in the likud who simply need more zionism/patriatism, but not a higher level of religous influance.
There’s no question that the more they apeal to non religous, the more they will lose their apeal the true religous ones.
Any faction that champions the youth and their ideas is doomed to cause trouble – especially if it is geared toward both religious and non-religious together. There is absolutely nothing that religious youth should be having in common with the non-religious youth and any causes that the youth have that is not being looked after and is deemed unnecessary by their elders probably is. Jews work with Mesorah – the elders are closer to Har Sinai. Goyim believe they are more advanced than their elders because they have evolved farther from the ape.