Unions and the Undecided: The Battle for the Votes of Disappointed Right-Wingers in the 'Third Bloc'
Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper launched their party 'Zionist Home - The Reservists' last night, joining a growing list of small parties courting right-wing voters disappointed with the current coalition. The situation in the 'Third Bloc' is intensifying.
The Boiler club in Jerusalem, usually full of revelers, wore different colors last night. The place was packed mainly with young activists who came to the launch conference of Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper's party, 'Zionist Home - The Reservists'. Shira Shapira, who joined the party and is the mother of Aner Shapira, moved the audience when she recounted that her son told the young people hiding behind him in a shelter: 'If I get hit and I'm not here - continue after me'. She added that this commandment, which accompanies her every day, is the reason she entered politics.
Tropper, for his part, took a jab at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, saying he only acts on TikTok. He announced that the party would demand the Ministry of Internal Security for Hendel, who often talks about the problem of governance. Thus, another party was born, entering the competition for the right-wing vote disappointed with the current coalition. One of the most courted audiences among the small parties is the religious-Zionist sector, where there are many 'homeless' voters who do not want to vote again for Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Chili Tropper, a beloved figure in the sector, understood the potential that also emerged from research. He and Hendel, representing liberal religious Zionism, want to attract the sector's votes, alongside the votes of reservists. The party demands a significant conscription law for the ultra-Orthodox even before the formation of any government they enter. Despite great skepticism, the party managed to pass the electoral threshold in several polls, but four or five mandates is not a strong enough point to go to the ballot box with.
Unlike other parties in the 'Third Bloc', which insist on a broad unity government, Tropper and Hendel talk about a Zionist government. In the political system, it is believed that they will complete 61 mandates in a government led by Gadi Eisenkot, and not in a 61-mandate government of Netanyahu. Some polls in the last week showed that the crossing of Tropper and Hendel is what brings Eisenkot closer to the 61st mandate and a government without Ra'am, but in the 'Change Bloc', they still express concern about the move. Tropper has said more than once: 'I will act responsibly, I will not burn votes'. The understanding is that if the party does not continue to rise, close to the closing of the lists, Tropper may join Eisenkot or Naftali Bennett so as not to take a risk.
Another new small party is that of former Likud members Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein. Both previously reached the first place in the Likud primaries and believe that the party can decide the elections. They state they are the only ones who are not in the 'connection game' and intend to run alone until the end. They are expected to present several ironclad principles: equality in the burden, a broad government that will not rely on the extremes, not to rely on the ultra-Orthodox, not on the Arab parties, and as of this moment, also not on Yair Golan.
Erdan and Edelstein estimate that Netanyahu is at the end of his political path and today's Likud is going to less statesmanlike places. Meanwhile, they are holding conversations with potential candidates, such as former Beit Shemesh Mayor Dr. Aliza Bloch and former judoka Oren Smadja, who lost his son, Reserve Sergeant Major Omer Smadja, in a battle in the Gaza Strip.
Also in the race is Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, who has been conducting negotiations with Dadi Simhi. However, despite the two publicly expressing support for joining forces, this political move is not being realized due to leadership disputes. Sources in the political system estimate that Simhi himself has not completely closed the possibility of joining other political forces, even in Likud, as he is receiving offers for reserved spots. This situation leaves Blue and White Knesset members in an uncomfortable political waiting mode, forcing them to consider other political homes.
Another figure who may greatly influence the space of small parties, with an emphasis on the Netanyahu bloc, is Ofer Winter. He is holding conferences and home circles, signaling the establishment of a new party, and is expected to make a decision by the end of August. At the conferences, Winter argues that to bring back right-wing voters disappointed with the coalition, the public needs 'new blood' not associated with the current system. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears the multitude of small parties on the right and hopes to bring back those disappointed with the coalition through the many reserved spots he received in Likud, for which he is trying to recruit figures like Ron Dermer and Gabi Ashkenazi, who have so far refused him.
