National Union (Israel)

The National Union (

The National Union was formed in 1999 to contest the

Herut ran independently in the 2003 elections, and did not pass the barrier. The National Union party won seven seats, and was included in Ariel Sharon's coalition, alongside Likud, Shinui, the National Religious Party, and Yisrael BaAliyah. Elon and Lieberman were appointed Minister of Tourism and Minister of Transportation, respectively.

The National Union opposed the

However, the National Union was then bolstered by the addition of the Renewed Religious National Zionist Party (later renamed Ahi), which had been formed by NRP dissidents opposed to the Gaza withdrawal after the NRP had decided to remain in the coalition. After withdrawal, the National Union adopted orange as its symbol, the color having been used by anti-disengagement protesters.

In 2005, Yisrael Beiteinu left the National Union to run independently in the

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In 2008, in anticipation of the 2009 elections, the National Union and NRP formally unified into a single party, called the Jewish Home. This was intended to unify their political sector and present the public with a new face for the religious Zionist movement. The Jewish Home was to be a single party, rather than a list of separate parties, each with its own agenda and independent leadership. Professor Daniel Hershkowitz was picked to head the newly formed party. However, MK Aryeh Eldad left to form his own list, Hatikva, while MKs Effi Eitam and Yitzhak Levy (formerly of Ahi) re-established Ahi, which later merged into Likud. When the Jewish Home announced its candidate list for the elections, five of the top six slots went to ex-NRP members, with only MK Uri Ariel, formerly of Tkuma, in the top six.

The remaining ex-Moledet members broke off, re-established their party, and allied with MK Eldad's Hatikva, reviving the National Union name. Elon stated that he would not seek re-election, and American immigrant Uri Bank took his place on the Jewish Home list. The split from Jewish Home grew, and polls indicated Hatikva could win three seats. Eretz Yisrael Shelanu also joined the National Union, with member Michael Ben-Ari given fourth spot on the alliance's list. While these issues were being negotiated, Uri Ariel also left Jewish Home and rejoined the National Union list, leaving Jewish Home as little more than a renamed NRP.

In preparation for the

In 2012, MK Aryeh Eldad and MK Michael Ben-Ari sparked controversy by calling for asylum seekers entering Israel to be shot.^[11]

Composition

Party leaders

Leader Took office Left office 1 Benny Begin 1999 1999 2 Rehavam Ze'evi 1999 2003 3 Avigdor Lieberman 2003 2005 4 Benny Elon 2005 2008 5 Ya'akov Katz 2008 2013 6 Uri Ariel[a] 2013 2019 7 Bezalel Smotrich[a] 2019 Incumbent Election results Election Alliance Leader Votes % Seats +/– Status 1999 none Benny Begin 100,181 3.0 (#11) 4 / 120 New Opposition 2003 none Avigdor Lieberman 173,973 5.52 (#5) 7 / 120 3 Government 2006 National Union-NRP Benny Elon 224,083 7.14 (#9) 6 / 120 1 Opposition 2009 none Yaakov Katz 112,570 3.34 (#8) 4 / 120 2 Opposition Knesset members Further information: Knesset Term Members 1999–2003 Binyamin Elon, Michael Kleiner, Hanan Porat (replaced by Zvi Hendel), Rehavam Ze'evi 2003–2006 Uri Ariel, Aryeh Eldad, Binyamin Elon, Zvi Hendel, Avigdor Lieberman (replaced by Eliezer Cohen), Michael Nudelman, Yuri Stern, Yigal Yasinov (joined from Shinui) 2006–2009 Uri Ariel, Effi Eitam, Aryeh Eldad, Binyamin Elon, Zvi Hendel, Yitzhak Levy 2009–2013 Uri Ariel, Michael Ben-Ari, Aryeh Eldad, Ya'akov Katz Notes ^ a b Tkuma is the only remaining faction in the National Union. References ISBN 978-1-317-58450-6 . ^ "Israeli political parties". BBC News. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2015. ^ Gil Hoffman (1 January 2009). "The only candidate Anglos can 'Bank' on?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 June 2015. ^ Donald MacIntyre (5 June 2004). "Cabinet farce after Sharon sacks pair to secure Gaza vote". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. ^ Elad Benari (12 October 2012). "Ben-Ari Leaves National Union, Will Run with Eldad". Arutz 7. Retrieved 15 October 2012. ^ "Moledet Strengthens Unity in Religious Camp". Arutz Sheva. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012. ^ Herb Keinon; Yaakov Lappin; Lahav Harkov (15 December 2011). "Rioting Jews to be tried in army courts". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 June 2015. ^ Jonathan Lis (8 January 2012). "Second Israeli MK admits to having given settlers information on IDF movements". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 June 2015. ^ Nathan Jeffay (3 June 2009). "Pollsters Find Israeli Public Less Supportive of Settlements". The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved 26 June 2015. ^ Yair Altman (30 March 2011). "Settlers stone police in nightly clash". Ynetnews. Retrieved 26 June 2015. ^ Gili Cohen (3 June 2012). "MK: Shoot everyone trying to cross Israel border". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 June 2015. External links National Union Knesset website "Facebook of National Union". Facebook. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. "/ Young Leadership of National Union website". Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Facebook Young Leadership of National Union