Israel's Political Parties (March 2021)

Sorry for the poor audio quality on this. If you're new here, my main channel is on Jewish history, and if you want to support it, my Patreon is here: / samaronow
0:00 How Israeli Elections Work
2:53 Likud
6:02 Yamina
8:37 United Torah Judaism
10:15 Shas
12:04 Religious Zionism
14:43 Yisrael Beitenu
16:36 New Hope
18:32 Yesh Atid
19:53 Labor
23:02 New Economic Party
23:52 Blue & White
25:19 Meretz
26:40 The Joint List
28:13 Raam
28:54 Conclusion

[@electionsisrael6588]

*CORRECTIONS* 1. Hadash *does* support a two-state solution; it's just my Hadash-supporting friend who doesn't. 2. UTJ is a union of a Hasidic and non-Hasidic Haredi party. 3. Sorry for seeming kind of checked out; I hopelessly overstretched trying to cover this and all the historic elections and working on my other channels. Next time I'll allow myself more time.

[@yitzhakgoldberg2404]

I'd never vote Labor -- they're really just flat out communists -- Israel doesn't need communism, it's had enough of it. Communism always fails without fail.

[@yitzhakgoldberg2404]

@@JR-zc5pz they want to ruin Israel, it's obvious.

[@yitzhakgoldberg2404]

@@JR-zc5pz they'll invite all the Arabs in, for one.

[@yitzhakgoldberg2404]

@@JR-zc5pz I support either Likud or Yamina. Free market parties. Socialism never worked well for Israel in the past, so what changed?

[@yitzhakgoldberg2404]

@@JR-zc5pz Likud doesn't want "apartheid," how ridiculous! Yes, they want Judea and Samaria but that's rightfully Israel's.

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Watching this after the election series feels like a high school reunion

[@merkavamkivm3373]

A massy, forced, high school reunion where everyone hates eachother.

[@lamichael8659]

when there are so many elections, you need a whole dedicated channel to it:

[@user-gr9fq9gt9w]

I wondered where all of your videos gone from the main channel! I'm so happy I discovered your other channels today! *You should mention them on your main channel.*

[@BruceM8]

Thank you so much! That was fascinating, balanced, very informative, and idiosyncratic enough to keep it very interesting. I learned so much on a topic I was just trying (largely unsuccessfully) to research online earlier today. This American thanks you very much. And whatever the outcome of today's election, I hope you do well.

[@BruceM8]

@@NetanelWorthy Care to elaborate?

[@ganapatikamesh]

KZbin recommended this video and I’m glad it did because this was by far the most comprehensive explanation about the political parties in Israel that I have ever found (both on KZbin and via other media sources). Thank you for making this video! I also appreciate the full disclosures at appropriate points in your explanations simply because it has become less common for people to do that for reasons I don’t fully understand and so whenever I come across those who do provide that context I definitely appreciate it! I’ve went ahead and subscribed to your channel as I think I’ll get some high quality information from you regarding Israel’s elections and political situations that I can use to better understand what I might come across reading in various news sources or overhear as a topic of conversation by some friends who mildly or occasionally pay attention to elections outside the US. Great video!!

[@joshmellott8013]

Just a quick addition, traditionally, Hadash has drawn its support from middle class Arab Christians and secular middle class Muslim Arabs. Ta’al, even though it isn’t an Islamist party, has an almost exclusively Muslim voter base, and they are strongest in the Triangle region. Balad takes Palestinian nationalists from all religious groups of Arab society in Israel.

[@iddomargalit-friedman3897]

Also, paradoxically, the don't define themselves as palestinians, but as arab nationalists.

[@moisuomi]

Ofer cassif is Jewish and a member. My guess is that Odeh wanted to use him to get Jewish communist/socialist support

[@codwhores6776]

The exhaustion with elections is real lmao. Here's to another reason to drink on Pesach.

[@TheAndrewSchneider]

Probably the most informative video on this topic I have ever yet seen!

[@nadrini300]

Thorough, informative, and entertaining. Thanks for sharing and will be looking forward on your video about electoral reform! Also, props for staying in the Labor party! Greetings from the Philippines!

[@emizerri]

Thanks, first video I've watched from you and don't know enough about Israel so it's really helpful and informative. Well made!

[@charlesmartin1121]

The Cat: "Hey put a cork in it, I'm sleeping here."

[@royharel2147]

Amazing video! It truly made my day!

[@jonyprepperisrael60]

i think you should do a video about all those parties that never get inside the kannaset,like the pirate's party or the party for men's rights.

[@electionsisrael6588]

I know you're thinking about JJ's fringe parties video, and it just wouldn't be logistically possible considering how much they come into and out of existence from one election to the next.

[@erikgelfat367]

@@electionsisrael6588 Maybe do a video about parties that did not have the chance of getting into the Knesset but tried for a long time, or maybe small parties that are impactful or known, my point is you don't have to do on all of them but maybe on some of them.

[@royxeph_arcanex]

@@erikgelfat367 Seconded. I'll be extremely eager to hear coverage about Ilan Meshiha's "Social Leadership" party. This one's like massage for people who look for pathetically funny parties

[@NH-bn8xn]

Waiiiit. You have a second channel? Keep this one going! We need English language representation of our internal politics

[@SuperDaan64]

Very interesting video, nice work!

[@kfiraltberger552]

Great video! You should definatly make a new one for the upcoming elections though XD

[@aminsameti]

That was a lot to take it :)) Awesome! Thank you.

[@kenjerry]

7:20 - Naftali Bennett is not a "native born American" but was born in Israel to American Jewish parents who had made aliyah.

[@matthewbrotman2907]

He is a US citizen since birth. He is eligible to run for the US presidency, under the John McCain precedent.

[@navetal]

Can't wait to see the next video...

[@matthewbrotman2907]

The wrap-up of this election is going to be FUN.

[@lorenzogabutti8303]

Excellent analysis! 👏

[@adhamsinan2648]

Thank you very much, this was very thorough

[@nobunkbibleprophecy4273]

I would have considered putting the parties in this video in order of date of origin, but whatever. Your content here is very informative. Well-done.

[@LudicrousPlatypus]

It's surprising to me that only one party is actually supporting a one state solution where Arabs and Jews have equal citizenship. A Two State solution cannot coexist with settlements in the West Bank. I would have thought a one state solution would be more popular than it is.

[@user-up4ll3pt2w]

it's hard to explain 1. Most Israelis don't see Arabic claim to Israeli land as legitimate see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration and the British later giving the land to Israelis after offering a solution that splits the land to the Arabic people also occupying the land. 2. the things that happen almost daily in the areas with Arabic majority cause a lot of Israeli people to believe stereotypes about them which causes fear of living in the same state which is why only the most leftist party supports it. 3. Meretz is known to never act. they constantly talk about these things but have never done any major thing to support that which also causes losses in voters, i know people who voted Meretz and were extremely disappointed. 4. Zionist left, the leftists that support Zionism consider it better to just give Arabic people equal rights and more and keeping Israel as it is right now. 5. to get votes in Israel you need to make centrists and even some of the opposite people. rightists/leftists vote for your rightist/leftist party so stating something that can be controversial can cause a major loss in votes so parties generally avoid talking about a 1 state solution or even a 2 state one. personally, I'm a zionist leftist meaning I believe that the first step towards solving the conflict must 1st be equal rights and then move towards finding a way to solve the land problem once Israelis and Arabs/Palestinians don't hate each other as much. I might be wrong about some things but that is how i usually look at this. you should either save yourself a major headache or look further into the matter.

[@Hircine0]

This was my first video I saw of yours before I hopped to your main channel. Good luck with making the next video for the upcoming elections 🙂 ובהצלחה לכולנו 🥲

[@thedemongodvlogs7671]

Oh my 30 minutes!? this really must be a messed up election

[@shais4696]

Trust me, you dont know the half of it

[@merkavamkivm3373]

Messed up are no words compared to what we have here.

[@boruchrizel3525]

Thanks for the very informative video.

[@123calibunga]

Excellent video Sam

[@garykildall4111]

Great video thanks!

[@iddomargalit-friedman3897]

Even though your left wing bias is clear, this is still a great summery. As an Israeli, good job! One major correction is that Yamina doesn't support annexation of the entire west bank, just the jewish-majority parts, with the arabs there given full citizenship. What you described is the religious zionism's paltform. As for Blue&White, their main platform is: 1. Opposing Netanyahu and any legal reform, while not being too left wing 2. getting in the knesset so that Gantz could automatically replace him if the situation drags until november.

[@quentinceb]

very interesting great video keep it up

[@uriahlevi8640]

Great Video, would be great if there’re more maps and animations included. Also though this is my first time watching your video, I’d knew you were a Labor Party member from the beginning for some reason... 😂

[@Steve-kp3de]

Thanks for the video it explained a lot

[@kingfagoat]

Fantastic job!

[@alexisfonjallaz7237]

You have a small mistake 8:52: UTJ is an alliance between Agudat Yisrael (chassidic) and Degel HaTorah (misnagdic). Gafni himself is not chassidic, so the UTJ definitely caters to both chassidim and litvaks!

[@shlomogodick]

A small mistake? I find it remarkable that someone who mistakenly thinks that UTJ is exclusively Hasidic feels he is entitled to discourse on the various political parties in Israel. A severe blow to his credibility in my opinion.

[@nalisaed8725]

Excellent video.

[@pandastical9205]

Shout out to the cat

[@bogazici92]

I found this channel very recently and thank you for the information about the Israeli elections. P.S I subscribed the channel

[@barakdan1858]

Damn Sam, nice suit sir!

[@electionsisrael6588]

That is not a suit, it is just a jacket.

[@Anonim01089]

THIS CHANNEL IS AWESOME!!!!!!

[@okto_0]

Great video!

[@TheMacJew]

Looking forward to the 2024 edition

[@taoriq3632]

Great video

[@hakol5938]

Hey Sam any chance of new party breakdown and election issues videos for this upcoming election? I’ve been watching the polls and I’m really curious about what’s going on with the whole RZ situation right now. Sure, I get Yamina joining the coalition wasn’t popular and it makes sense that it would lose major support, but still at least from afar what’s going on with OY’s sudden popularity seems like a pretty big shift

[@rfmckean]

This was a great video and I am disappointed not seeing an update given there has been another election. How stable is the Likud lead majority? From last year's March 2021) review of the parties it would seem to me to be relatively stable.

[@Cybernaut551]

Fascinating and I was well informed.

[@oriole4008]

UTJ is not exclusively Hasidic. It consists of two factions: Agudat Yisarael (Hasidic) and Degel Hatorah (Lithuanian Non-Hasidic).

[@Rolando_Cueva]

Yisarael

[@tulsatrash]

I love seeing countries where people can be publicly skeptical and critical about all leaders and parties in the country they live in

[@dannedifyoudo]

Would love an update video

[@uripesachstuff2409]

Will you make a video analyzing the election results and theorizing about the future of the Israeli political world?

[@MrBluemanworld]

I'm looking for updated info., time for another video, Shmeul.

[@AANG207]

What does it mean to be a member of a party? Is this your job? Also, great video! I swear, it’s so hard to find comprehensive videos about stuff like this.

[@electionsisrael6588]

You pay an entry fee to become a party member, which in theory enables you to vote in primaries. Labor however is quite unusual in that it has primaries at all; most don't; so to be a member of a party is quite uncommon in Israel; as opposed to the US where it just means checking a box when you register to vote- voter registration also being a thing that doesn't exist in Israel.

[@AANG207]

@@electionsisrael6588 very interesting, thank you! In terms of elections, I live in Quebec, Canada where we have first-past-the-post, which I absolutely hate! However, Quebec will be holding a referendum in 2022 to change to a mixed proportional system for provincial elections. A step in the right direction I hope! Finally, this province does something smart!

[@electionsisrael6588]

I'm surprised they're going to mixed proportional instead of AV, which is a smoother transition for countries with FPTP. It's what Maine adopted. Though I suspect this may be another bit of Quebecois Europhilia.

[@matthewbryan9020]

@@electionsisrael6588 MMP is much more representative then AV so it is something good that Quebec is possibly doing

[@radztransdoggo]

@@electionsisrael6588 Mixed proportional is very popular here because of the big Urban/Rural divide in the population. The current government has been elected on 35% of voice but over 50% of seats by receiving a lot of rural and suburban seats. People in less populated regions want to keep local representative by fear of being forgotten by the political class. I also think the fear of the anglo vote block might be part of it.

[@TheGamingAlong]

12:24 So nobody's gonna talk about the sleeping cat?

[@sammjust2233]

Litzmen had to step down because they have a rotation with the litvak side of the party

[@MrKenichi22]

Thanks for the video and explaining Israeli Politics

[@omegapc9520]

can you make a fringe parties of Israel video it'll be interesting

[@Nootsy666]

Amazing video I'm planning on making one very similar on Kurdish politics

[@anonymousanonymous7250]

Can't wait for the next video: "Reuven Rivlin had just given the mandate to Yair Lapid when... all hell broke loose."

[@Pratchettgaiman]

I swear I've seen articles (or at least headlines) proposing that Likud might recruit Ra'am into its coalition, due to their shared conservatism/anti-anti-clericalism. Do you think this might actually happen? If it did, it would demonstrate that Israel is a wildly different country than a lot of foreign commentators claim it is.

[@electionsisrael6588]

Bibi has said no, but I wouldn't rule it out. He's worked with them before in the opposition.

[@iddomargalit-friedman3897]

Bibi has been trying this *very* hard the past two weeks - but as it seems now, it will probably be foiled by the religious zionism party.

[@JeremiCzarnecki]

OK, so I found Jesus explaining Israeli political parties in the run up to Easter...

[@DGAMINGDE]

17:28 I would actually be in favor of dividing the country (this was a system I originally created for German elections) is divided in different electoral districts. The number of representatives from each district would be decided by the amount of voters in the specific district. Those seats would be allocated by the percentage of the vote the different parties got in the specific disctrict. In addition voters might be able to vote for a specific candidate of a party instead of the party as a whole. The most voted for candidates from the party would get into parliament. In the case of a political deadlock there could be multiple options. If a prime ministerial candidate is not able to form a government after more then one try, they might be banned from forming a new government for maybe 5 years. However my favourite option would be the creation of a proportional government (Proporzregierung) which triggers instantly if parties are not able to form a government on their own. A "Proporzregierung" which was used in many Austrian states was basically proportional representation but for cabinet members. It is extremely important to me that there is a multi-party system with many strong parties in parliament and this system could be a solution for problems that are currently created by the system in Israel. I would propably be a supporter of the Hadash-One-State solution however I have huge respect for Israel introducing a proportional presentation system in the 1920s. I would propably clash with many people because most I know are very anti-Israel and I would defend Israel just because of its election system which I consider very democratic.

[@sharonefee1426]

The problem of it is one part having a large impact compared to others. And Israel isn't that big to begin with (in size or population)

[@idanzamir7540]

What voting system would you prefer to the current one? I think STV is a must I'm tired of being afraid to lose tens of thousands of votes.

[@electionsisrael6588]

STV is the dream, but nobody I've ever talked to about it in Tel Aviv wants to bother learning about candidates or ranking them. We already have a problem of people trying to vote tactically in a political system where that isn't a thing! Incidentally, I've been meaning to get in touch with you vis-a-vis doing a video on the Tombs of the Tannaim. Can you email me?

[@idanzamir7540]

@@electionsisrael6588 Wow, of course, what's the address?

[@electionsisrael6588]

See here: kzbin.infoabout

[@christiang.6308]

Thank you very much for this excellent presentation, the best I ever saw on the pretty confusing Israeli political system. I am German, social-democrat too, and wonder what you meant by not liking the German political system. Both electoral systems are based on proportional representation. In my opinion the main problem here is the element of the majority vote system, which makes our parliament increasingly bigger, if one party dominates the political scene. Positive I think is our 5% threshold for entering parliament. Maybe something Israel also should consider. I hope the Israeli political left finds a way to unite and consolidate again.

[@benjaminr6153]

The 5% threshold is a good idea in theory but in practice it would be seen as a way to “screw over” the Arabs. I actually think the German hybrid system of PR + Constituencies would be a big plus for Israel.

[@nodeue]

You're incorrect that UTJ is specifically Hasidic. It's actually an alliance of two parties, Agudat Yisrael - a Hasidic party, and Degel HaTorah - a Litvak/Misnagdim party.

[@dannedifyoudo]

Please do this video once a month lol

[@John_does]

Huh, I didn't know ally of those things, most of the really surprising things mostly make me like the parties I didn't like even less, but I did forgot what merez did recently, I might needed to reconsider my vote, will leave that to do in 6-9 months

[@randomguy-tg7ok]

Why is this in my recommended...? Ah well, I'm gonna watch it anyway.

[@anonymousanonymous7250]

Alright no excuses when is the next video?

[@jonyprepperisrael60]

another election video?

[@yelenaantipova3964]

Am I ashamed that I learned a lot more about Israeli politics from an American guy with an American accent than on myself as someone who have been here from childhood? Yes. Yes I am.

[@bord1741]

Hopefully this isn’t a strange question, but could you at some point talk about how the split between Zionism and Anti-Zionism influences Israeli politics? It’s very strange to an outsider to hear that that’s an issue internally as well, and not just externally. It seems like a fascinating topic.

[@iddomargalit-friedman3897]

The arab parties are anti-zionist. The ultra-ortodox are traditionally non-zionist, although shas voter base slightly is. Everyone else is zionist, although meretz is flirting with non-zionism, with an intern conflict in the party about it. All together, slightly less than 3/4 of parliament are zionists.

[@newjerseyyouth4853]

But what is new hopes stance on the Death Star?

[@benyaakov6453]

Actually you made a mistake about UTJ,UTJ is not a Chassidic party it is a coaltion of Agudat Yisrael which is Chassidic & Degel HaTorah which is Lithuanian yeshiva Chareidim AKA Mitnagdim.

[@avrumim]

I’m a huge fan of yours and watched all your videos on both channels. It’s quite clear where you stand politically, however there are some things which I think maybe should be pointed out. A) a huge amount of people in Israel actually wants Bibi as PM. Perhaps you could have added an explanation as to that and less bias B) UTJ is a mix of Aguda and Degel Aguda is Chasidic and only 50%. Degel is the other 50% of non Chasidic C) Shas voters are more affiliated bcos of the sefardi pride/rabbi ovadia yosef element. If it would just be draft exemption they would all happily vote UTJ. My personal research has shown me this Otherwise really love all your content on both channels!! Keep it up

[@greatwolf5372]

Your 309th subscriber

[@vegahimsa3057]

Love the cat

[@radztransdoggo]

I have about 2 fucks to give about Israeli internal politics in general, but somehow I never miss one of your video on the subject.

[@radztransdoggo]

because they're great

[@leanderbarreto6523]

What about the future electoral trends?

[@electionsisrael6588]

It's impossible to speculate until the constitutional crisis ends.

[@nuzayerov]

0:25 I respect excluding Palestine on the map, unlike what Israelis normally do.

[@Dankenshmunken-dv8mg]

18:42 ‏ but it’s important to say that Yesh Atid supports the two state solution but with the major population centers annexing to Israel. and the labor party supports returning to the 1967 borders.

[@AnnaBenIsrael]

As far as I know Hadash supports the two states solution - unless something changed in recent years. I also won't describe Balad to their left. They are sort of liberal nationalists, just Palestinian, I think.

[@viktor220592]

UTJ does not only cater to Chasidim, but to Ashkenazi Charedi in general (Moshe Gafni himself isn't Chasidic)

[@liberoAquila]

Is Balad is running?

[@nickmoser7785]

Interesting that both Assad and Netahyu lived in the west until the tragic death of their brothers who were seen as future rulers of their countries and that both are defined by a socialist-nationalist joint rule (Baathism and Zionism).

[@LudicrousPlatypus]

I don't know why I was recommended this as I am not Israeli at all, but it certainly is interesting.

[@ireh379]

i like this

[@WillyWally40]

Props for the the informative neutral video while still disclosing your personal political leanings.

[@hakol5938]

So I’ve been confused by something for a while: why hasn’t a serious non-ultra-orthodox Sephardi-interest alternative to Shas ever come along in the modern era? (Like there were around the founding of Israel) It seems like a weird deal that someone would have to support pro-ultra-orthodox policies in order to get Sephardic empowerment too - after all, based just on raw numbers, most of their actual policies would probably primarily benefit the Ashkenazi Haredim the most. So, is there anything stopping a less religious (not necessarily totally secular, just less religious) Shas from rising to prominence?

[@electionsisrael6588]

Yes: the fact that the Likud is perceived as the secular Sephardic party.

[@hakol5938]

@@electionsisrael6588 very interesting

[@sfogbobi387]

And thus the Post-Netanyahu era begins ;) Seriously though, Naphtali Bennet serving as PM was NOT something I expected to see right after the last operation.

[@moisuomi]

It won’t be for long though. After Silman resigned the government is in crisis with a new threat of Raam leaving ( A PARTY WITH 4 SEATS IN THE KNESSET) which would immediately topple the government without doubt. Netanyahu would win the next election and back the new normal.

[@I_can_do_20_push-ups]

Your microphone is peaking. You need to turn gain down.

[@OneProudBavarian]

Cat

[@OneProudBavarian]

I would really love a discussion of the MMP electoral system. I personally like it a lot here in Germany, so I'm quite interested in hearing about why you would be opposed to it in israel.

[@electionsisrael6588]

I just don't like the idea of there being two different classes of politician in the same body- one that is directly accountable to the people and one that gets by on the goodwill towards those who are, but are purely products of the party machine. My ideal would be STV or AV, but native-born Israelis have repeatedly told me they have no interest in ranking candidates; the current system is attractive in its simplicity but tends to hurt the majority interest in practice.

[@Insert_Name-bo4cd]

My suggestion would be for the Prime Minister to be elected like the Israeli President where the Knesset votes for them on a secret two round ballot. Then the Prime Minister could just appoint minsters with the approval of the Knesset. The Prime Minister and Knesset members could then be required to serve a full four year term (Unless a person resigns or is impeached). The Prime Minister would only be able to serve two terms. I don’t think the smaller parties would support this though because then they would lose all of their power in the Executive Government except to approve or block Likudniks or *le gasp* a other largest party’s nominees and pass laws about the Executive Government’s functioning.

[@OneProudBavarian]

@@electionsisrael6588 I suppose I can see this in particular in a unitary state. Within Germany, I have worked with my directly elected MP to coordinate things on the local/district and the state level. However, that effect is basically lost in a unitary state like Israel. Interesting perspective, thank you for sharing it with us!

[@ComradeHellas]

Didn't expect to see you here

[@kong7319]

what's the difference between social democracy and democratic socialism, according to you?

[@user-up4ll3pt2w]

well don't most people say social democracy is anti-capitalist while democratic socialism isn't? so social dem is more left-wing and dem socialism is more to the right-wing and supports some capitalist ideas?

[@electionsisrael6588]

Other way around.

[@robloxfanboy86]

Social democracy is basically capitalism but with strong welfare and corporate regulation. Democratic socialism is full on socialism but in a multi party state.

[@mikeoxsmal8022]

As a person who lives in a country with a stv electoral system ,I think it is very good

[@mikeoxsmal8022]

@@Insert_Name-bo4cd am Irish

[@electionsisrael6588]

I've been a big fan of the Irish system since I wrote an article about the election a year ago. It's really the best of both worlds. The big challenge is that it's really complicated and hard to explain, so it can only be realistically implemented when countries are newly independent, as the Republic of Ireland was.

[@dor2858]

Very accurate description, most of the israeli voters doesn't know that much. yet, two little mistakes(that are very common, even in israel and israeli media): 1. Balad is a right wing arab party, which represent arab secular nationalism. 2. Hadash support the two state solution and even though it's historically communist, most of its members are social democrats. good job!

[@mlovecraftr]

I've been told that the exclusion of Sephardi Jews in Israel is more akin to the discrimination of the Irish and Catholics in America and that, just like in the American example, integration and intermarriage have mostly eroded the difference between the groups. Would you say that this is right?

[@electionsisrael6588]

I wouldn't compare it to the Irish in America, because there was a paranoid religious dimension to that discrimination that wasn't present in this situation. But otherwise that's probably as good of a comparison as you will get.

[@mlovecraftr]

@@electionsisrael6588 Thanks for the answer!

[@wordart_guian]

*roman* catholics are a small percentage in israel but aren’t most israeli christians *greek* catholic ?

[@redsamson5185]

How about the Joint List, Avodah and other left leaning parties run together?

[@AnnaBenIsrael]

Avoda and Meretz tried running together in the previous round and performed poorly. The Joint List - I don't see them joining a zionist party any time soon. Meretz manages to draw votes by hovering on the threshold and Haavoda can get votes by not being Meretz. Personally I just cast a die between Haavoda, Meretz and the Joint List as I don't care which of them gets my vote as long as one of them does. I do like to have more than one party to choose from so if one annoys me enough they'll have a smaller chance or no chance at all in the next election but I'd still have someone to vote to. Probably a case of a Jew needing two synagogues...

[@AnnaBenIsrael]

That sort of what Hadash was, though the communist party was a major part there. Most Jewish center-left and even democratic socialists like Meretz see themselves as zionists. Those that aren't will go to the joint list. Also while I see the appeal of one big party it doesn't perform as good as several parties. There is always something to anger someone and people won't fear that this party might not pass the threshold so it will lose a lot to a zionist center party.

[@nattivl]

let me correct you, 3 seats are the minimum requirement for a party to enter the knesset not 4

[@electionsisrael6588]

3.25% in a body with 120 seats. The smallest party possible automatically gets 4 seats.

[@nattivl]

@@electionsisrael6588 really? but it wasn't like that 10 years ago, right?

[@electionsisrael6588]

Correct, it was changed in 2015.

[@skiesboi]

Correction: UTJ is the Ashkenazi Hareidi party, made up of both the Aguda (Chassidish) and the Degel HaTorah (non-Chassidish) parties. This is why its name is United (union of the two parties) Torah Judaism. Internal politics assign the place on the list according to the numbers of followers (voters) that each section has, thus Gur/Ger Hassidim (Litzman) gets a place high up on the list. I doubt that Gafni ("Litvish", ie, non-Chassidish) would appreciate you calling him Chassidish