Former MK Michael Ben-Ari is back and running again for Knesset. His revamped party is now called Otzma Yehudit.
In the previous elections, Ben-Ari’s party, then called Otzma L’Yisrael, just missed passing the Knesset’s minimum threshold by 9000 votes. In this election, the minimum threshold for entry is even higher.
The new party is clearly trying to distinguish itself from Naftali Bennett’s Bayit Yehudi, and defines itself as the real Right – and saying that the right-wing doesn’t talk about “two-state solutions”.
They hope to push the point that Bennett isn’t a “real” right-winger, which interestingly enough, may work to Bennett’s benefit, as having a party to the right of Bayit Yehudi may make Bennett look even more moderate and appealing to a larger voter segment.
There is also talk of Otzma Yehudit wanting to join forces with Eli Yishai, but at this point it’s just talk.