Former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations and former Minister Gilad Erdan announced on Thursday the establishment of a new right-wing party under his leadership. According to Erdan, the party will raise the banner of equal share in the burden of service and the need to form a broad Zionist government.
Joining Erdan at the party launch announcement was Yuli Edelstein, who has served as both Knesset Speaker and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman.
Erdan pledged that his party would not join any narrow government, and said, "My entire life, I have been a right-winger. I never zig-zagged. I believe in the land of Israel, in settlement, and in governance, and I fiercely oppose the creation of a Palestinian state.
Erdan stated further that he "believes that the time has come to return to the right what it lost in recent years, responsibility, the glory of the Beitar movement, and mutual respect. I vehemently oppose the left's views. But I never hated those who thought differently from me. I never spoke about their ethnicity, family, or lifestyle. Since a political opponent is not an enemy. Our enemies are in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon.
Erdan announced that his party would appeal to right-wingers who support enlisting the entire population, and pledged to advance "Basic Law: Service," which would require all Israeli citizens to perform military or national service.
He said that "every citizen will serve in military or national service. It can not be that a young man from Umm al-Fahm can begin academic studies at the age of 18, while a young man from Ofakim can only do so after three years of IDF service. It can't be that a Torah and mitzvah observant young man from Bnei Brak would not shoulder the load while a Torah and mitzvah observant young man from Ofra risks his life in Lebanon."
Concluding his address, he stated: "For years, they tried to convince you that you have to choose; that if you want a nationalist government, you need to give up on the equal share in the burden of service. That if you want settlements, you have to give up on service for all. And I tell you this evening: this is a false choice, this is not right-wing or equal service, the true right is enlistment and sharing the burden of service."
He added, “It is not settlements or service for everyone. It is settlements and service for everyone. Anyone who tells you that you have to choose between these values is trapped in yesterday’s politics. Anyone stuck in the politics of the two blocs is tearing the country apart. If you want solutions to the enormous challenges facing Israel, we are your home."