In dramatic about-face, New Right joins forces with National Union for Knesset election

The new unified list is now calling on another right-wing party Jewish Home to join the alliance.

By World Israel News Staff

In a stark turnaround, the New Right party, headed by Defense Minister Naftali Bennett and former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, has joined forces with Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s National Union party and will run as a joint ticket in the March 2 Knesset election.

“This is a big day,” said Bennett on Tuesday.

“We have reunited the family. We’ve made a large alliance in the ideological Right and in Religious Zionism – from the traditional [non-Orthodox] to the Haredi-Zionists, from the knitted kippas to those without kippas, from Tel Aviv to Kedumim” in Samaria,” he stressed, referring to the New Right ideology of bringing together religious and secular Israelis among right-wing citizens of the Jewish State.

Just a day earlier, Bennett announced that his New Right party would run separately and not join other right-wing parties on a unified ticket.

National Union was said to be on the verge of joining a list together with Jewish Home and Otzma Yehudit, but in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Smotrich reportedly made clear that such a deal was not working out, and instead he turned to New Right.

National Union and Jewish Home exchanged accusations over who was to blame for the collapse of their negotiations.

Now Smotrich and Bennett are both urging Jewish Home to join them instead

Bennett called on Jewish Home leader Education Minister Rafi Peretz “to join us immediately to form a single united party, for the victory of the national camp.”

“Bezalel Smotrich is our partner and ally. The alliance with him brings together all the streams of Religious Zionism and the secular ideological Right and ensures the formation of a stable and secure right-wing government. I call on the Jewish Home to join us,” Shaked said.

Registration for parties running in the March 2 election is taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, with the deadline set for 10 pm on Wednesday.