The new chairwoman of the Jewish Home party, Hagit Moshe, tells Arutz Sheva how she won the primaries, answers the allegations about the "intervention" of the prime minister in her party, and discusses who she intends to join in the run-up to the 24th Knesset elections.
In her first interview after the victory, she admits: "It was tough. We went to decide our path for the future, to vote on where religious Zionism will be located in the State of Israel, and where the Jewish Home will be. I am overjoyed at our decisive answers to all of these questions.”
"People believe in one way," she says. '' I introduced an alternative that says 'Come on, everybody, let’s go back Home. We don’t need to lose our identity to any party.' We have a very serious party with a huge constituency that has waited too long to hear our message and see us hoist our flag. To my absolute delight, our message has been heard and the people have one more given us their trust.”
Moshe says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not interfere in what was happening in the Jewish home. "The Prime Minister intervenes in many important and essential issues for all of us, for the entire State of Israel, but the Jewish House is not one of them. It’s actually flattering to think that we are the most important thing for him - he has to deal with the coronavirus, with the economy, with endless other matters. I’m happy that he had time to all me and congratulate me.
Asked if she intends to join Naftali Bennett's Yamina, Moshe replied: '' The Jewish Home is a sectoral religious Zionist party. Naftali Bennett on Channel 12 said 'they are sectoral, they are small', and I was a little offended by the truth at the time. Today, I say that we are a broad, inclusive, diverse, and sectoral party and it is good that we are like that. Yamina is not a religious Zionist party - it wants the votes of the religious Zionists, Haredim, the secularists, the Arabs, the Shulmans [small business owners]. They are a party for everyone; we are a party for a strong and united force of religious Zionism in Israel.”
According to her, ''Not everyone who wears a knitted kipa (skullcap) in any party represents religious Zionism. We want to remain sectoral, raising our flag to send a clear message to everyone that we stand for the people and land of Israel.”
''Every party has a knitted kipa somewhere- with Blue and White, with Yair Lapid, in the Likud, with Naftali Bennett. They are all excellent members of Knesset, and all of them have internalized some of our values, but there is only one genuinely religious Zionist party.”
What will Jewish Home’s list be in the elections to the 24th Knesset? Hagit Moshe says: ''First of all, we will create a more natural identity as the nation’s religious Zionist party. A careful conversation with everyone else as to what other parties we are willing to work.”