Otzma Yehudit, the right-wing party headed by MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, is riding high in the polls, and now reports have emerged suggesting that Ben-Gvir has reached out to Jonathan Pollard, offering him a place on his party's list in advance of elections scheduled for November. Pollard, however, has denied any intention to enter politics.
"It's very important to me to make a contribution to the Jewish People," he told Channel 12 News, "but my place is not in the Knesset. I think that I have already suffered enough..." he added.
Pollard also stressed that he has the greatest admiration for those who are active on behalf of the Jewish People, the Land of Israel, and the Torah of Israel, and expressed the hope that "all those who believe with all their hearts in this world-view will find the right way to join the effort to work toward genuine unity and for the benefit of the Jewish People."
Meanwhile, Otzma Yehudit has commissioned a poll examining the popularity of various figures and proposing various slogans for the run-up to elections.
The poll suggests five names for the party's slate and asks respondents to state whether they view the five people positively or negatively.
Among the five is Elad Tzadikov, who is currently an activist for the Degel HaTorah haredi political party and sits on the Herzliya municipal council as Degel HaTorah's representative. Tzadikov is currently deputy mayor. He gained public attention not long ago following various disparaging comments he made about the LGBT movement.
Asked to comment on his future intentions in politics, Tzadikov told Israel National News that, "I am a representative of Degel HaTorah in Herzliya. There's nothing wrong with public figures examining all sorts of possibilities in order to maximize their political clout, but in the event that I do decide to change direction, Degel HaTorah will be the first to be informed."
The other names mooted on the poll's list are reserve Brigadier-General Tzvika Fogel, Limor Sur Har Melech, Professor Avi Liebkind, and Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu.
Various slogans were also proposed and the survey's respondents invited to comment. Among the proposals are: "Ben-Gvir's time has come," "Israel is waiting for Ben-Gvir," and "It's not right-wing without Ben-Gvir."
Respondents were also asked to say whether they thought a public declaration by Ben-Gvir that he would support Netanyahu would strengthen or weaken Otzma Yehudit.