New Right party leader Ayelet Shaked was not really interested in the move initiated by her partner Naftali Bennett in the last election campaign, which resulted in electoral failure. It is now in her power to bring about what many on the Right have long been hoping for: a political alliance of the religious Right.
According to reports, Shaked on Friday issued United Right leader Rafi Peretz an ultimatum: Either make her party leader or she would break up the party. Such a move would be highly unlikely though, as it contradicts the expected move toward unification by the religious Right. It is also entirely unbelievable that Shaked, a hawkish but liberal member of the Right, would join forces with Otzma Yehudit's Itamar Ben-Gvir in order to thwart the unification of right-wing parties under Peretz.
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That is why, even if the polls show a unified bloc under Shaked capable of garnering more Knesset seats, it is very likely that in the end, we will see Shaked wind up in the No. 2 slot and Bennett in the No.4 slot in the right-wing alliance.
There are many on the religious Right who do not like the fact that Bennett and Shaked are being welcomed back into their wings. They will need to work to overcome this apprehension. From Shaked's standpoint, a return to the No. 2 slot will serve to rescue her from political demise. It is hard to imagine Peretz, following the dissolution of Habayit Hayehudi in the previous election and the electoral failure of the New Right, rolling out the red carpet to hand the keys to the party over to Shaked.
Should Shaked accept the No.2 position in the party, this will be something of a political resurrection for her. She was done for, but now she is back again. In order to realize her political dream, she will need to switch over to the Likud. But since that hasn't happened, the United Right's offer is the best she can hope for.
At any rate, in what is a critical week for political alliances on both the Right and the Left, it seems the unification on the Right is closer to fruition. Despite the confusion and irresponsibility we have seen over the past few months, there is an understanding on the Right of the threat posed by a joint Blue and White and Yisrael Beytenu government with outside assistance from Joint Arab List head Ayman Odeh. The news of a unification will see soon lead other right-win factions to join the alliance. It is doubtful, however, a solution will be found for Zehut party leader Moshe Feiglin outside of moral pressure for him to drop out of the race.
On the Left, the impression is that news of an alliance between Israel Democratic Party leader Ehud Barak and billionaire and registered sex offender and alleged pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has created a serious obstacle for its unification with the Labor party. Through its speeches and tweets, Barak's campaign is doing damage to the Left. His incessant use of terms like "fascism" and 'apartheid" do not sully the Right but rather point to the former combat soldier's having lost his patriotic spirit. The more effective this campaign is, the more difficult it will make Blue and White leader Benny Gantz's election run. A coalition partnership with Labor under Amir Peretz's leadership will be an option, but Barak can no longer be a partner to such an alliance.
