Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel issued a joint statement today (Sunday) addressing their political futures after establishing the “Zionist Home-Reservists" party together in recent weeks.
Behind the announcement are different decisions the two have made regarding their next political steps: Tropper is on his way to running with Gadi Eisenkot, while Hendel is expected to remain out of the race.
In their statement, the two sought to make clear that despite their differing political decisions, their friendship and ideological partnership remain intact.
“A true friendship. We have more than 20 years of being neighbors, friends, sitting next to each other in synagogue, as well as several years of serving together in the reserves," Troper and Hendel wrote.
The two also addressed the political paths they have taken over the years: “Both of us chose to try to serve the public through the political arena as well. In some cases together and in others separately, but with very similar ideological views."
They then addressed the establishment of their joint political framework in recent weeks: “In recent weeks, we established Zionist Home-Reservists together with a clear goal: establishing a Zionist government and making an effort to ensure that it is as broad as possible."
According to the two, the initiative received a positive response, but the political reality led each of them to make his own decision. “To our delight, the party gained an important and significant place, and many people joined it. Nevertheless, in light of the complicated political reality, each of us made a personal decision."
Tropper and Hendel stressed that they intend to continue working in the public sphere, even if they do not currently do so within the same political framework.
“Both of us are committed to continuing to serve the country and working on behalf of those who serve and for internal cohesion, each from his own place. What matters is the ideological partnership, which remains intact, the belief that we will cooperate again in the public sphere, and, of course, the friendship - where even someone who looks really hard won’t find any traces of bad blood."
The two concluded their statement by referring to their longstanding friendship: “This is a friendship of many years, one that began before the political journey and will continue long after it."