(IsraelNN.com) Dr. Aryeh Eldad has decided to lead a new party — HaTikvah — instead of remaining with the National Union-National Religious Party. In an interview with IsraelNN TV, Eldad said he decided to leave the NU-NRP when it became a religious party, a step he felt would turn away secular and traditional Israelis. HaTikvah will be religiously inclusive, he said.

Eldad explained his goals, which include increasing Jewish education in secular schools and requiring everyone voting in national elections to accept the nature of Israel as a Jewish democracy.

Eldad dismissed concerns that he could ultimately disappoint national-religious voters as secular nationalist politicians, such as former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, have done in the past. Both religious and secular politicians have sometimes disappointed their voters, he said. “It's not a matter of wearing a kippah or not wearing a kippah — you must judge a politician on whether he's trustworthy or not,” he said.