MK Ofir Sofer (Religious Zionism) was a guest in the Israel National News studio on Wednesday, after the submission of the party's slate to the Central Elections Committee, with the Noam party joining the ticket at the last minute.
"The entire right-wing bloc has a challenge not to lose votes. We have a responsibility, whether it’s through 'Noam' or those who left Yamina, to bring in all the votes and also those who have not voted in the past. This is the goal. To increase voter turnout, appeal to those who did not vote last time, to remind them that even 1,400 votes are critical and 20,000 votes can determine whether we will have a stable, homogeneous right-wing government that thinks properly and can lead significant processes, or alternatively, God forbid, we will continue to falter, which is not good for the country and irresponsible," he said.
"The alternative is a government with Ra'am and the Joint List. After all, Gantz and Lapid know that they cannot form a government without the Joint List and Ra'am," he added.
Regarding the criticism voiced by Yossi Brodny, number 2 on the Jewish Home slate, about Religious Zionism adding the Noam party that, in his opinion, humiliates women and defines LGBT people as deviant, Sofer said he prefers not to respond "neither to those who have stepped down nor to those who will step down soon," as he put it.
On the claim that only Shaked and Brodny passing the electoral threshold will guarantee the right-wing bloc a majority of 61 MKs required to form a government, Sofer suggested looking at the polls that show a trend that the Jewish Home-Shaked joint ticket does not come close to the electoral threshold and voting for them is, in fact, a waste of votes. "I call on people to behave responsibly, to vote for the right-wing bloc. We must not miss out on a single vote."
Sofer dismissed attempts of different parties, including Yisrael Beytenu, to define themselves as the home of religious Zionism. "There is one home for religious Zionism. Not everything is simple and there was a lot of thought involved in building the slate, and Bezalel [Smotrich] should be commended for the work he has done in recent times to give representation for everyone as much as possible."
Sofer stressed that the reason for the disintegration of the government was the standoff between Mansour Abbas and Ahmed Tibi and this is the kind of government that Benny Gantz is talking about, which would be disguised as right-wing with members who wear kippot and who are supposed to appeal to the religious Zionist public. "The main skeleton of this party is Gantz and Eizenkot. It's one big disguise. This is a full-on left-wing party that will promote Oslo, the agenda of the far left. The meaning of voting for Blue and White is to go back there, to let Ahmed Tibi and Mansour Abbas lead the next government."
"The right-wing bloc will lay the foundations for a right-wing government. We are working on this and it will not happen without hard work. The foundations will remain the foundations of a right-wing government and nothing else," he said on the possibility of completing the 61 seats with a party that is not naturally a member of the right-wing bloc.
"The mission of all right-wing parties is to cross the 61-seat threshold. This is the mission of everyone who believes in a Jewish state. It is of great significance that a right-wing government will be formed here," stated Sofer, and to the question of the fear of Netanyahu's attempt to take seats from his own party, he said that today he fears this a lot less than in the past, due to the understanding that achieving the 61 seats is the goal of the entire camp.