Otzma Yehudit

Right.

Itamar Ben-Gur's Otzma Yehudit and Bezalel Smotrich religious Zionism retain significant parliamentary representation.

How should we distinguish their religious nationalist radicalism from Netanyahu's populism? Have these parties shifted the boundaries of mainstream political discourse, particularly concerning Palestinian rights and territorial sovereignty?

Yeah, so we can look at this in two ways, right? We can look at whether Likud is closer to the end of the left-right spectrum, or whether Otzma Yehudit or the Religious Zionist Party are closer to the end.

And in that regard, there's simply not much more right wing to go.

Otzma Yudit and the religious Zionist parties are as far right as possibly can be in a comparative perspective, right? If you look at the most right-wing parties on the Chapel Hill Export Survey, which is one of the largest policy positions, data sets for political parties out there, those two parties are as far as the most far right parties there are in Europe or in the world.

And in this regard, it's really how to differentiate between the three parties.

But definitely, during the last three years, we saw Otzma Yudit and religious Zionist parties, but also parts of the Likud, pushing the scale itself and explaining or making us rethink where does the scale end? Where is the far right end of the left-right spectrum.

And when you take the larger picture, 67 for a change and 53 to stay with Bibi, it is clear that Bibi once again lost.

Now, why does this logic not work on the right? You could say, yeah, Likud got 27, but then there's United Torah Judaism and Otzma, Yodid, and all these other parties.

It's because those parties are not interchangeable with Likud.

Likud is its own animal.

And Israeli's own security agencies have previously described this guy as a danger to society.

He's a new MP that was elected in this election for a party called Jewish Power, which if it sounds ominous, it's because it is.

But then there's the opposition, right? The liberal, progressive, modernizing, beautiful opposition that was going to save everything.

In that opposition, there's a guy called Avigdor Lieberman who used to be Israel's far right.

A lot of support at the last minute.

Those voters seem to flee for Otzma Yehudit and some for the religious Zionist party of Bezalel Smotrich, but Otzma is Itamar Ben-Gavir's party.

We've also noticed a larger number of Chabad voters moving to Utsma from the Haredi bloc.

Chabad voters are known for their far-right opinions, but they generally vote with the Haredi bloc.

Yisrael B'tenu, Avigdor Lieberman, seven seats.

United Torah Judaism, which is the Ashkenazic Orthodox Party, the European-descended Haredi party, they have seven.

Otzma Yehudit, Itamar Ben-Gavir's far-right party, they have seven.

And Shas has six.

The details out of the Israeli election that I found most interesting were, yeah, the- The huge uptick in voter turnout and then also seats for the Arab parties.

And some of the comments I'd seen around it, for example, one was like a member, I think a member of, oh, I've got to get this party right, the Otzma Yehudit.

My pronunciation is terrible probably, but it's Ben-Gavir's party.

And someone had said, I think a member of their party had said that they were blaming Ben-Gavir's policies on driving the Arab vote turnout.

This would be very similar to the government that they think they had a decade ago, back when the pig was in the government.

I think what's happened is that the Haredim and the religious Zionists have gotten, by religious Zionists I mean Otzma as well, have gotten so empowered over the years.

I don't know, but I think you have more of a chance of just a general unitary government with both sides ruling together and just dumping the Arabs.

I think that's the way they're going to go, although...