(IsraelNN.com) Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe, head of the Chabad “Our Land of Israel” movement, and Baruch Marzel’s “Jewish Front” party will run together on a united list in the coming elections.

Wolpe and Marzel appeared together at a press conference on Monday morning in Jerusalem to make the announcement.  Rabbi Wolpe said that he never expected to enter politics, but that the situation had become too grave for him to merely stand by and watch. Israel has actually become a terror-supporting country, he said, in that “we give money to terrorists, release terrorists, etc.”

Marzel said, “One does not have to be a genius to see the existential dangers facing Israel. The government in Israel shows weakness every day; this very morning, it is releasing more and more terrorist murderers, instead of responding to Kassam rockets with a sharp blow.  We have no choice but to succeed in showing a true idealistic approach of Jewish values and faith in G-d, and of people who are willing to truly devote themselves to these ideas in which they believe."

Jewish Home Turned Marzel Down
Before joining forces with Rabbi Wolpe, Marzel had said that he was open to an invitation from the nascent united Jewish Home party.  Such an invitation to participate in the Jewish Home was not forthcoming, however. Party leaders compared Marzel to the left-wing religious Meimad party, saying that both were "too extreme" and could not fit even into the broad common denominator that the Jewish Home is trying to create. 

Attacking the Jewish Home
At the press conference, Marzel sharply attacked the new religious-Zionist Jewish Home party: “They want to give us a leader [newly-appointed Jewish Home leader Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkovitz], whom no one even knows. Even the waiters at this hotel are checked out more carefully than the man who purports to lead the entire religious-Zionist camp!  Furthermore, he never even visited Gush Katif!  Moshe Rabbeinu grew up in the palace of the king, but he went down to see how his people were suffering, and this qualified him to become a leader!” 

MK Aryeh Eldad has also attacked the Jewish Home as being “Kadima with a skullcap.”  In fact, its perceived left-wing leanings may lead to a breakaway by the former members of the National Union.  A decision will be made after the Jewish Home’s list of Knesset candidates is announced later this week.

One Wolpe supporter noted last month, “The real right-wing in Israel is renewing itself as hareidi, nationalist and secular” – consciously omitting the religious-Zionist public that has formed the hard core of Land of Israel support for decades.  Contacts are underway with Eldad – a secular nationalist Jew who has been promoting his HaTikvah party - and others to join the Our Land of Israel party.  Party officials acknowledged that if the Jewish Home breaks up, a new list might be formed out of MKs Uri Ariel, Benny Elon, Marzel, Volpe, Eldad, and others.

The Last Elections
In the last elections, Marzel ran as head of the Jewish Front, which garnered nearly 25,000 votes - less than half of the necessary minimum for Knesset representation.  Some say the run cost the National Religious Party-National Union, the forerunner of the Jewish Home, a Knesset seat.  However, others maintain that had the NRP not campaigned against the Jewish Front, causing many potential voters to fear that their vote would be "wasted," the Jewish Front would have earned three Knesset seats, the minimum representation that a party can have.