Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, the former head of the Yamina party, recently concluded a deal with the now defunct Derech Eretz party headed by Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel to form a new party titled "Zionist Spirit." She joined Israel National News in their studio on Sunday to discuss the current government and her future plans.
"I am the symbol of the Right in this government, as I have been for the past year," Shaked said. "We succeeded in implementing right-wing policies no less than during the Netanyahu years, from holding a huge Flag March despite threats made by Hamas, to building a significant number of housing units in Judea and Samaria. We blocked the opening of a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem, and Bennett also told [US President Joe] Biden that he would not agree to hold negotiations with [PA chairman] Mahmoud Abbas. And don't forget the quiet in Gaza that enabled the communities surrounding the Strip to flourish. We also established new communities in the Negev," Shaked added.
While other Yamina members abandoned the government, citing its left-wing slant, Shaked stressed that this is something she will not do. "I have no intention of abandoning this government to the left-wingers," she said. "Every day, I succeed in promoting right-wing policies."
Shaked added that in her opinion, the general public is sick of the question of "yes or no" to Netanyahu. "People are fed up with 'No to Bibi' or 'Only Bibi.' What we need to do is establish a government that knows how to get things done. During the past year, the government functioned, but even so, half of the country felt as if the country had been stolen from them. That's why we need to band together to form a broad government. We've seen that a narrow government is too unstable. I've been working toward the formation of such a government for years."
On the new party just created, Shaked was upbeat about what she feels she can achieve. "Our party aims to be made up of half Religious-Zionist and half traditional-secular members," she said. "I think that we'll be able to represent everyone who is Religious-Zionist, nationalist, and right-wing. Yoaz Hendel, for instance, comes from the Religious-Zionist sector. I'm also in ongoing contact with Matan Kahana, and we should be making decisions very soon. Several key and influential figures from the Religious-Zionist sector are going to be joining us," she said.
And what about Nir Orbach, one of Yamina's "renegade" Knesset members?
"Nir is part of Yamina and is still party chairman, in fact," Shaked stressed. "As we head to elections, we're trying to keep the channels of communication open. We have a lot of different opinions among our members, but at the end of the day, I'm party leader so I'm going to be the one charting our path forward."
Asked to comment on the possibility of the Jewish Home joining Zionist Spirit, Shaked said she would not rule it out. "I have a great relationship with members of the Jewish Home. We've worked together on many things, and I anticipate continuing our cooperation into the future."