Extremist Jewish Power Party Leaves Right-Wing Alliance Ahead Of Elections
Otzma Yehudit leader Michael Ben-Ari speaks at a rally, January 2019. Image by Michael Ben-Ari/Facebook
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The extremist right-wing Jewish Power party, or Otzma Yehudit, said it will not run on the same list with the Jewish Home Party like it did in April.
Otzma Yehudit said that Jewish Home was not honoring the terms of the merger agreement, including not requiring its Knesset members appointed last week as government ministers to resign from Knesset under the Norwegian law, in order to allow the Otzma Yehudit candidate Itamar Ben Gvir to enter Knesset.
The union of the two smaller right-wing parties was brokered by Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the national elections in April in order to shore up votes to allow him to form a government with a solid bloc of right-wing parties. The parties won five seats in the short-lived 21st Knesset. New national elections are scheduled for September 17.
Otzma Yehudit said in a letter to Jewish Home Party head Rafi Peretz announcing the split that it is “trying to form other unions that will strengthen the right in the coming elections.”
The National Union Party, part of the Union of Right Wing Parties alliance with Jewish Home and Otzma Yehudit, called on the parties to stop “unnecessary wars within the right-wing camp.”
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