The Israeli Right needs a merger, not another messiah - opinion

The Israeli Right is fractured into multiple small parties, risking wasted votes below the electoral threshold. The article argues that the Right does not lack voters or ideas but lacks the humility to unite on one ballot. It critiques Likud under Netanyahu for narrowing the national-liberal movement and calls for a merger of figures like Erdan, Edelstein, Haskel, and others into a single serious list to create a viable, broad right-wing alternative.

The Israeli Right is fractured into multiple small parties, including new formations by Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein, Sharren Haskel's Israel First, and Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper's Zionist Home, with Ayelet Shaked and Ofer Winter hovering over the same political territory. The article argues that with Israel's electoral threshold at 3.25%, this fragmentation risks right-wing votes disappearing from the Knesset. It contends that the Right does not lack voters or ideas but lacks the humility to unite on one ballot. The piece critiques Likud under Benjamin Netanyahu for narrowing the national-liberal movement into a coalition-maintenance system built around one indispensable leader, dependent on haredi parties and Itamar Ben-Gvir. It calls for a merger of these figures into one serious list, noting that Sharren Haskel has publicly called for unity and shown willingness to compromise. The article argues that a consolidated party could give Likud a major Zionist partner, make Ben-Gvir optional, and create a Right capable of surviving Netanyahu. It distinguishes between Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, calling Smotrich the lesser evil for translating ideology into policy. The piece concludes that Netanyahu's final test is whether he can leave behind a Right that no longer needs him.