Right-wing fragmentation: Erdan exits, Farah withdraws, rabbis petition Trump

Gilad Erdan pulls his party from the race as a Joint List official quits over harassment claims and Haredi rabbis lobby the White House.

Right-wing fragmentation: Erdan exits, Farah withdraws, rabbis petition Trump — Gilad Erdan announced the withdrawal of his "Ha'ichdut" party from the Knesset race today (Friday), about a month after its establishment. "I believed that the terrible massacre of October 7 required us to change direction," Erdan said. "Unfortunately, reality shows that a large majority of the public seeks a clear decision on the question of the prime minister's identity." His exit, just before lists closed, underscores a broader fragmentation of the Israeli Right, where smaller parties are bleeding votes and failing to coalesce into a viable governing bloc. [^1] [^2] Separately, Jaafar Farah, who ranked second in the Hadash primaries and fourth on the Joint List, announced his withdrawal from the race amid six testimonies of sexual harassment against him. The timing — days before the final candidate list deadline — suggests the allegations were a decisive factor, though Farah did not publicly address the specific claims. [^3] Meanwhile, prominent rabbis, including anti-Zionist Satmar leaders, met last night (Thursday) at the White House with President Donald Trump and submitted a letter demanding his intervention on the Haredi draft issue. "Every Haredi Jew of draft age walks the streets in fear," they wrote, framing the conscription crisis as a matter of existential threat to their community. [^4] A new i24NEWS poll conducted by the Direct Polls Institute on September 3, 2026, among 519 adult respondents, found Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc standing at only 51 mandates — far from a majority of 61. Among opposition voters, 16% said they identify more with the statement "I hate Netanyahu more than I love the country," compared to 66% who identified with "I love the country." The data suggests that while anti-Netanyahu sentiment is a real force, it is not yet enough to consolidate a winning coalition. The right is fragmenting into small parties, wasting votes and the makings of a government, as one analyst put it. [^5] The question is whether this fragmentation will force a merger before the election or simply hand the next government to a coalition that can barely govern. Defense —