With the Yamina party established by Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked now gone, MK Nir Orbach no longer has a political home as elections loom. He discussed his future plans in politics with Galei Tzahal, voicing his dissatisfaction with the situation.
"I'm not currently looking for a party to join," Orbach said. "I've told my wife that in the next elections, there's a good chance I won't be part of any list.
"I'll have to decide between voting for Ayelet Shaked or the Likud," Orbach added. "I'm leaning toward the Likud, but it's not a party that I could see myself joining. The only relevant option for me was the Zionist Spirit party, but unfortunately Ayelet Shaked has taken it in a different direction."
Last week Orbach expressed the same sentiment, telling Radio Kol Chai that he could not envision joining the Zionist Spirit party given the direction it was taking.
"You can't have it both ways -- you can't be vague [about your policies]," he said. "I told Shaked that the only successful path to take is that of taking advantage of the vacuum that exists within the Religious-Zionist community, [trying to appeal to] those who think that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are too extreme, and who can't bring themselves to vote for the Likud. There too, it will be tough to pass the electoral threshold.
"This past year has been very complex," he added. "Avoiding elections was a constant challenge, and while we made some achievements at first, in the end, we didn't succeed.
"The process ended when Bennett announced that he was going to dissolve the Knesset, which was a result of a meeting I held with him following a long period of discussions with him. I didn't hesitate; the moment I realized that we were relying on the votes of anti-Zionist MKs, I went to see him and I was transparent with him from the outset.
"I had a goal, and I don't know if anyone else would have opposed the Prime Minister -- who is also my friend -- and do something like that. I worked with him for ten years, but I stood up for my beliefs and I knew that I might end up paying a price for that.
"When I decided on this course of action my options were either elections or a government such as what we had. I didn't compromise on my ideology, and I worked with the haredi parties, Rabbi Druckman's people read every word of the conversion bill, and I blocked Yulia Malinovsky's conversion bill when it came to light. In the first few months, I felt that I could achieve things, for the haredi sector, for the settlements, and to promote my values and ideology. In the last few months, however, I felt that the ground was being cut out from under my feet with the government dependent on the Arab Joint List.
"I'm the person who is responsible for Bennett's decision to dissolve the government," he asserted.