Baruch Marzel
Baruch MarzelIsrael news photo: Flash 90

A new poll gives the religious Zionist parties 14 seats in the next Knesset. Bayit Yehudi receives 11 seats and Power to Israel, which is headed by MK Aryeh Eldad, receives three, according to the poll, conducted by Midgam for Voice of Israel public radio.

MK Haim Amsallem's Am Shalem party receives 2 seats.

The combined strength of 14 seats for religious Zionist parties exceeds their projected power in previous polls and may be the harbinger of a more right-wing coalition than the present one. MK Amsallem, while a hareidi Jew, is more like the religious Zionists than the hareidi parties in his outlook. If his two seats are also included in the religious Zionist camp, it expands to 16 seats.

If the poll's prediction comes true in the January 22 election, Eldad will be joined in the 19th Knesset not only by MK Michael Ben-Ari but also by Baruch Marzel, one of the best-known nationalist activists in Israel.

Marzel, who lives in Hevron, is known for a fearless confrontational style in dealing with hostile Arabs. If he makes it into the parliament, altercations between him and aggressively anti-Israel Arab Knesset members like Ahmed Tibi may not be a far-fetched scenario.

Number Four on the list is Jerusalem land activist Aryeh King.