Smotrich, former Likud MK Feiglin to run on joint ticket in October elections

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and right-wing politician Moshe Feiglin have agreed to contest Israel’s October elections on a joint ticket. They are expected to announce the alliance on Tuesday evening, ahead of next week’s deadline for submitting party lists.

Smotrich leads the Religious Zionist Party, which has been polling near the electoral threshold. Feiglin’s party has failed to cross the threshold in recent surveys, making the partnership an effort to combine their electoral support.

Feiglin previously served in Likud, the party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He left after failing to secure a higher position on Likud’s Knesset list following the party’s primaries.

He founded the Zehut Party in 2015. Its platform emphasized Jewish identity and personal liberty, alongside far-right security policies, including annexing the West Bank and Gaza. It also supported libertarian economic policies and legalizing cannabis.