The Union Shaking the Right: How Smotrich Could Reach 10 Seats | Exclusive to Maariv

A Maariv poll reveals that a union between Religious Zionism and Zehut would grant them 10 seats, compared to only 4-5 seats for Religious Zionism alone. The coalition would reach 55 seats, and possibly 61 with additional unions. Zehut insists on passing the electoral threshold alone, despite a history of failures.

A Maariv poll conducted by the Maagar Mochot Institute between July 23-27, 2026, among 501 respondents from the adult population in Israel (ages 18+), with a sampling error of 4.4% at a 95% confidence level, indicates that a union between Religious Zionism led by Bezalel Smotrich and the Zehut party, within a 'technical bloc', would boost the joint list to 10 seats. This is compared to the self-strength of Religious Zionism, which hovers on the thin line between political survival and failure, with only four to five seats in polls. In such a scenario, the coalition would reach 55 seats, and if additional unions join, such as Blue and White, Ofer Winter, and the party of Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein, the coalition might reach 61 votes and be able to form the next government. However, within Zehut there is an atmosphere of self-confidence, and they are convinced that the party will pass the electoral threshold even independently, despite polls showing otherwise. In the past, the party entered elections with such a belief and remained below the threshold, burning votes that could have gone to other right-wing parties. According to the poll, Zehut's main support bases come from voters of other right-wing parties: 13% from Otzma Yehudit voters led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, 3% from 'Yashar!' voters led by Gadi Eisenkot, and 2% from Likud voters led by Benjamin Netanyahu. The data reinforces the picture that Zehut feeds on votes that already belong to the right-wing camp, so any vote not converted into a seat could disappear from the entire bloc.