A new political party has registered with the Parties Unit under the name: "Jewish, Whole, and Strong Israel." Among the party members are former Otzma Yehudit deputy director Yehzekel Hason, Sara Marzel, the wife of right-wing activist Baruch Marzel, and Rabbi Yehuda Epstein from the Kedushat Tzion union. "The Jewish, Whole, and Strong Israel Party was founded to work for the advancement of the Zionist enterprise and to bring it to perfection," the party's goals state. It also stated: "The party advocates for the inseparable union of the Torah of Israel, the Nation of Israel, and the Land of Israel. The party will work to exercise the nation's unshakable moral, historical, and political right to the land according to the Torah. The party will work constantly to ensure and strengthen the Jewish majority in the State of Israel. Related articles: Otzma Yehudit wins ten seats Almog Cohen to become deputy minister, Smotrich to remain in govt Smotrich resigns from government in spat with Ben-Gvir Religious Zionist party demands Ben-Gvir leave Knesset Prior to the previous elections, many in National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party, led by the minister's former partner Baruch Marzel, felt the leader had become too moderate and ultimately decided to part from the party. Talking to Akiva Novick and Tali Moreno on Kan Reshet Bet radio in November 2022, Marzel said that Ben-Gvir "says that most Arabs are okay," He explained how MK Ben-Gvir has become, in his opinion, "too moderate," and emphasized that, "Anyone who voted Balad is the enemy." Marzel added: "We felt that the ideology was not well thought through, that it was shifting all the time, and that he was choosing a different course of action from us on very important issues. The truth is that Itamar didn't want us with him anymore. We were a burden on him." Marzel is in no hurry to give up on the movement that he helped found: "Otzma Yehudit is ours, and Itamar Ben-Gvir may have to create his own movement. We will run in the next elections, against Itamar, unless our prayers are answered and he repents."
