But for the Likud, under Netanyahu, it appears to be a meal its members are willing to consume out of political desperation. In the past, the party and its leader have advocated for LGBTQ rights. His Knesset members also walked out of the room when racist politicians on the right took the floor.
It does not look anymore.
The potential kingship party, Yamina, led by Naftali Bennet, is also on the right. But Bennet’s personal rivalry with Netanyahu and the ambition to take over the right, if Netanyahu is ever overthrown, means he is not joining a ‘pro-Bibi’ election bloc for now anyway.
With the Channel 13 poll predicting 11 seats, his party could increase Netanyahu’s alliance to 58. But for now, that’s not something Netanyahu’s Likud strategists can take advantage of. So every right-wing vote counts. To ensure this, Netanyahu falsified the creation of microblocks. Parties must pass a 3.5 percent turnout to count at all. Small parties may struggle to make it. By merging them into groups that share a candidate list with each other, and attached to his coalition ticket, every vote is made to count.
According to Channel 13’s poll, the party bloc Religious Zionism, which includes the Jewish power, will get five seats. This would lead to a seat on the Knesset for Itamar Ben-Gvir, a one-time supporter of the Kach movement in Israel that was banned in 1994 as a terrorist organization.
At the time, he was a leading light of the Kach youth movement.
“The badge is a symbol and shows that since we could get the symbol, we can get to Rabin,” he said.
Now Noam has joined the group – a religious party that is the biggest reason to exist seems to be homophobic.
Party leader Avi Maoz, who according to Channel 13 and other polls could also win a Knesset seat, campaigned for same-sex adoption and in-vitro fertilization for married couples.
“A country that strengthens a healthy family with a father, mother and children is normal.” “A country in which widowers or two mothers are recognized as a family is not normal,” he added.
Israel’s left, which is desperate to build a coalition to oust Netanyahu, also consists of many small parties.
Meretz, a mainstream left-wing party that also hopes to attract the votes of ethnic Arab Israelis, whose traditional parties often get 10-15 seats, is predictably furious about the latest legal treaty.
Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz told CNN: “This party is homophobic, is racist, advocates Jewish supremacy, deportation of Arabs, this is medieval politics.”
“I am very sorry that this is happening in my country. I think it is unfortunate that Prime Minister Netanyahu is in an alliance with that kind of people. It is neo-fascist. It does not belong here,” he said.
But within the Likud party, even among LGBTQ activists, there is uncertainty.
Netanyahu has a long record of supporting LGBTQ rights.
“To love someone must never mean a life of fear or terror. The LGBT community around the world has faced violence and intimidation for too long … in Israel the LGBT community pride. My unwavering conviction is that all people are equal … alas, some elements of our society are still not ready to accept the LGBT community. My solemn promise to you today is to continue to respect all cultivate the Israeli citizens without exception, ‘he said in a TV broadcast ahead of Jerusalem’s gay pride march in 2016, a year after a 16-year-old girl was stabbed and killed on the same occasion.
Eran Globus, a student advocate who was formerly chairman of Jerusalem’s open house for pride and tolerance for minorities, told CNN that he was disgusted by the latest political agreement reached by the Israeli prime minister.
But when asked if that meant the Likud party lost its vote, he replied: ‘I think, like many Israelis after three times voting (in three general elections within a year), it is up to the moment very unclear. you get there. ‘
Eli Hazan, spokesperson for the Likud, summed up the calculation for Likud.
“I have to be prepared to win in any situation. I do not like this party. We do not share anything with them except the will to win the election against the left wing.”