Marzel’s party will be called the Jewish National Front.
Marzel said, “People are looking for a new party. Many people won’t go out and vote if the alternatives are Orlev or Litzman. We will become the only alternative for people who have all but given up on the political system, and for people who are unhappy about supporting parties that served as a bridge for Sharon to expel residents from Gush Katif.”
MK Zvulun Orlev is the head of the National Religious Party, and Yaakov Litzman is an MK for Agudat Yisrael, a hareidi-orthodox party.
Marzel’s move comes at a time when rabbis affiliated with religious Zionism are urging all religious Zionist groups to merge into one political party in order to maximize their electoral potential.
In the last election, Marzel ran on the number two slot of the Herut party. Herut was headed by Michael Kleiner, a former Likud MK, who split with his party over its willingness to continue the Oslo process and withdraw from territories in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
Herut fell short of the minimum votes required to enter the Knesset. When asked about the possibility of those votes going to waste again, he said that those who voted for nationalist parties that joined Sharon’s coalition effectively lost their votes, as well.
Marzel said, however, he was in favor of unity. “That’s why I founded the Front,” he said. “If we don’t run, thousands of Jews will stay away from the polls. We need to serve as an alternative for these people.” Marzel said, for example, that Jews affiliated with the Chabad movement “are not able to vote for the National Union, for Agudat Yisrael, or the National Religious Party, because these parties opposed the opinion of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.”
“Even if these parties attain results at the polling booth, we’ll see that they don’t have a plan and we’ll see [a repeat] of the catastrophe that Sharon brought upon us,” said Marzel.
Marzel cited the conduct of the National Union and the National Religious Party which stayed in the government after Sharon announced his plan to destroy 25 Jewish communities in Gaza and northern Samaria. Marzel claims that by staying in the coalition, those parties actually helped Sharon build support for implementing his plan.
Among those joining Marzel’s new party is Professor Israel Hanukoglo, a former science advisor to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (1996-99), and Professor Paul Eidelberg, the president of Yamin Yisrael, a small right wing movement.
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union), who was offered the number six slot on a unified list with the National Religious Party, reportedly is considering running on Marzel’s new list.
Marzel said, “People are looking for a new party. Many people won’t go out and vote if the alternatives are Orlev or Litzman. We will become the only alternative for people who have all but given up on the political system, and for people who are unhappy about supporting parties that served as a bridge for Sharon to expel residents from Gush Katif.”
MK Zvulun Orlev is the head of the National Religious Party, and Yaakov Litzman is an MK for Agudat Yisrael, a hareidi-orthodox party.
Marzel’s move comes at a time when rabbis affiliated with religious Zionism are urging all religious Zionist groups to merge into one political party in order to maximize their electoral potential.
In the last election, Marzel ran on the number two slot of the Herut party. Herut was headed by Michael Kleiner, a former Likud MK, who split with his party over its willingness to continue the Oslo process and withdraw from territories in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
Herut fell short of the minimum votes required to enter the Knesset. When asked about the possibility of those votes going to waste again, he said that those who voted for nationalist parties that joined Sharon’s coalition effectively lost their votes, as well.
Marzel said, however, he was in favor of unity. “That’s why I founded the Front,” he said. “If we don’t run, thousands of Jews will stay away from the polls. We need to serve as an alternative for these people.” Marzel said, for example, that Jews affiliated with the Chabad movement “are not able to vote for the National Union, for Agudat Yisrael, or the National Religious Party, because these parties opposed the opinion of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.”
“Even if these parties attain results at the polling booth, we’ll see that they don’t have a plan and we’ll see [a repeat] of the catastrophe that Sharon brought upon us,” said Marzel.
Marzel cited the conduct of the National Union and the National Religious Party which stayed in the government after Sharon announced his plan to destroy 25 Jewish communities in Gaza and northern Samaria. Marzel claims that by staying in the coalition, those parties actually helped Sharon build support for implementing his plan.
Among those joining Marzel’s new party is Professor Israel Hanukoglo, a former science advisor to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (1996-99), and Professor Paul Eidelberg, the president of Yamin Yisrael, a small right wing movement.
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union), who was offered the number six slot on a unified list with the National Religious Party, reportedly is considering running on Marzel’s new list.