Rabbis and public leaders from the religious community have approached MK Yuli Edelstein and former justice minister Ayelet Shaked to discuss creating a new political framework, sources familiar with the matter told Walla on Tuesday.
The new framework would be geared towards mainstream Right-wing voters who are disappointed by the current coalition, as well as modern Orthodox Israelis who do not align themselves with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party.
According to the sources cited by Walla, the initiative would explore establishing a new party that would unite different constituencies on the Right and center-right ahead of the next election.
When asked if Israelis could expect to vote for her in the upcoming election, Shaked told The Jerusalem Post, “You’ll have to wait.”
Edelstein did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Right-wing voters search for a new party to support
Earlier this month, Yoaz Hendel told the Post that his Reservist Party is expected to join a political alliance ahead of the upcoming elections, as the party is not expected to pass the electoral threshold on its own.
Hendel describes himself as a right-wing, liberal nationalist and is generally considered center-right.
Additionally, former Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan stated last month that he intends to establish a new right-wing party to contend against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud.
In an interview with Army Radio, he said he’d work to create a party that “would not rely on extremists.”
With elections to be held in October, there is still no clear picture of what the running parties will look like.