Kahana: "You have devalued religious Zionism". Woldinger: "You did nothing for them" | Head-to-head in the election arena
Ahead of the 2026 elections, MK Michal Woldinger and Yeshar! party member Matan Kahana were hosted in the ynet studio for a discussion on the burning issues the next government will face. Woldinger said that nationalist crime in Judea and Samaria "is not a widespread phenomenon" - Kahana replied: "The government turned a blind eye, with a wink, and lost control."
The 2026 elections are approaching with giant steps, and ahead of the festive day, ynet continues its special corner - the election arena. Every week we host two politicians from both sides of the divide, hold a debate between them, and try to confront them not with the usual political issues that often provide headlines and traffic, but with the essential questions and issues that do not always receive the proper attention.
The guests in our corner this week are MK from the Religious Zionism party Michal Woldinger and former MK Matan Kahana - who joined the Yeshar! party.
The future of the Gaza Strip and the strengthening of Hamas
What are the instructions of the political echelon regarding opening fire? Matan Kahana claimed that "according to first-hand testimonies from soldiers, Hamas is training for an infiltration into the State of Israel. 35,000 armed Hamas terrorists are training in front of the eyes of IDF soldiers - who are asking for permission to shoot at them, and because of the instructions of the political echelon, they are not shooting. In the Gaza Strip, we have completely returned to the concept that Netanyahu built and led for decades".
Michal Woldinger replied that it was known in advance that the elimination of Hamas would take years and rejected the claim that the terrorist organization is strengthening: "Gaza does not look like it looked before the war. There is a ceasefire, because there are international constraints. The open-fire instructions have been changed - I heard the Minister of Defense's instruction on how we protect the citizens of the State of Israel. We do not intend to give up even one inch until Hamas is demilitarized and dismantled. We are in favor of Gaza as something that has no Palestinians there, we are there to stay and settle in the future".
Palestinian state and nationalist crime
Woldinger and Kahana accused each other that the side they belong to is the one that will establish a Palestinian state. Kahana claimed that "Smotrich's decisive plan is a binational state in which there is sovereignty and citizenship is given to Arabs living in Judea and Samaria and they are joined to the army".
In response to the issue of violence in Judea and Samaria, Woldinger said: "I salute all the settlers in Judea and Samaria. They are guarding me in Givat Shmuel and here in Rishon LeZion. I don't see violence there at all, I see there a very massive increase in potential terrorists and sympathy for Hamas". Kahana replied: "All the talk about settler violence is a despicable thing, but there is a tiny percentage who do huge damage to the settlement. The government over the years turned a blind eye, a bit with a wink - and lost control of this event".
The Recruitment Law and economic reforms
Regarding the recruitment of Haredim, Woldinger said: "You need to find, open, and improve integration in the army". Kahana replied: "Smotrich's party forged the 'we will die and not be recruited' alliance, fully aligned with the Haredi approach. Our recruitment law turns the default of a Haredi boy into recruitment, except for 3% of the total recruitment cycle who are musicians, athletes, or Torah learners".
On the cost of living, Woldinger defended Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, claiming that salaries have risen at a much higher level than prices. Kahana focused on priorities: "We need to change the priorities and give the budgets and the money to those who serve, to those who do reserve duty, not to those who do not work and do not enlist".
