Zionist Home-The Reservists chairmen Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel on Sunday announced they would pursue "separate political paths," while stressing that their ideological partnership and decades-long friendship remain intact.
In a joint statement, the two recalled more than 20 years as neighbors and friends, sitting alongside one another in synagogue and serving together for several years in the reserves.
“We both chose to try to serve the public through the political arena as well,” they said. “In some cases together and in all other cases separately, but with a very similar ideological outlook.”
The statement came less than two months after Tropper and Hendel announced that they would run together in the upcoming Knesset election, seeking to create what they described at the time as a significant new Zionist political force.
“In recent weeks, we established Zionist Home-The Reservists together, with a clear goal: establishing a Zionist government, and making an effort for it to be as broad as possible,” the two said.
They added that the party had succeeded in establishing “an important and significant place” for itself and attracting many supporters.
“However, faced with the complicated political reality, each of us made a personal decision,” Tropper and Hendel said.
Options for Tropper's political future include merging with Eisenkot, Bennett, or Liberman
Several options lay before Tropper's Zionist Home party now, primarily a possible merger with either Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar, Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad, or Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu.
Eisenkot is currently considered the most serious option, and Tropper would likely make the move together with his associates, Shira Shapira and Elisaf Peretz, creating a political alliance as a group rather than making the move on his own.
Regarding Bennett, the party's slate currently has little room to offer them, while his alliance with Yair Lapid has already added pressure to the candidate list, further reducing the number of available slots and limiting his room to maneuver.
The same difficulty exists with Liberman, as the demand is not for a place for Tropper alone, but for a package that would include all three members of his group, and Liberman is struggling to offer an arrangement of that scope.
Party slates must be finalized and registered this week in order to be eligible for the October 27 election.