Naftali Bennett and Uri Ariel
Naftali Bennett and Uri ArielFlash 90

Jewish Home leader, Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, told a gathering of activists in Gush Etzion Sunday that he intends to formally unite the Tekuma/National Union faction with the Jewish Home party right after the new constitution is approved Wednesday.

"I intend to speed up the processes of unification immediately after the approval of the constitution,” he said. “The basis for the Jewish Home's power and the key to its success is unity.”

"The first mission that we will take upon ourselves after we ratify the constitution will be speeding up the processes for unification with Tekuma,” he elaborated. “I intend to keep on working toward the full unficiation of the party right after the constitution is approved and complete the process of unification as fast as possible.”

"We aim for the leadership,” Bennett said. "One of the tools for this is the constitution, which will be brought up for ratification Wednesday, and alongside that, the ability of the various elements within the party to stride together toward the challenges that face it in the future.”

Minister Uri Ariel is “a true idealist,” he added, “a public servant in the full sense of the word – he is always thinking about the wider public. In his office, he withstands harsh pressure, alone, at the forefront of construction in the Land of Israel, but we would not have reached these importart decision centers without unity.”

Last week, Ariel warned that the constitution could cause a split in the party. "As the Jewish Home's central committee is set to convene and vote on the party constitution,” wrote Ariel, “we have to answer many questions, the foremost of which is: how will the constitution affect the fabric of unity of religious Zionism? How much weight does it carry and where is it headed?”

"I support unity,” he vowed, “but I, too, like many others, see the process of the constitution, in the way it was brought before us, as a move that could gnaw away at unity and bring about a split.”