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Formally known as the United Right, Shaked announced that the right-wing faction that the includes Habayit Hayehudi, New Right and National Union parties, will run a campaign titled "Israel wants Yemina" – the latter, loosely translated, means "rightward" – saying that would be the faction's title in parliament as well.

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Addressing supporters, Shaked said, "I have news for you that you won't hear in the media: Israel wants to move rightward. [It wants] a more ideological, effective Right, a Right that talks and acts."

"I am aiming for the highest political echelon in Israel and intend to go as far as I can to lead the country," Shaked said.

"We have been given a second chance; there won't be a third. Without a strong ideological Right, a Likud government will be established with the Left.

Shaked took Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the task, saying, "The public is moving to the Right, but time after time finds itself being dragged to the Left against its will. Two months ago, everything was up for sale for [former Labor leader Avi] Gabbay and his partners. Gabbay's gone but the threat remains. The threat of ideological liquidation is still here."

Shaked also touched on the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of Gush Katif.

"Ever since that disaster, and in light of its consequences that continue to haunt us every single day, the public has drawn its own conclusions and realized that if we value life, we must vote with the Right. The public has indeed moved rightward but finds itself time after time being dragged against its will to the Left. It doesn't have to be this way.

"Believe me," she said, "I did not see anything different from the cabinet desk than what I saw from home. The only difference is that from the government desk, I saw it much more clearly! We didn't just see it, we proved it! Right is not just a name, it is also an essence. We want to take Israel rightward … The Israeli people want the Right, and they aren't really getting that. We realized that it is only together that we can act to regulate settlements in Judea and Samaria once and for all; we realized that it is only together that we can open the Supreme Court up to other voices and bring democracy back to the people."

Education Minister and Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Rafi Peretz and Transportation Minister and National Union party chief Bezalel Smotrich also delivered remarks at the event.

Smotrich, who made headlines recently after members of the Likud party demanded his firing following his sharp criticism of Netanyahu, also spoke at the event.

He said, "Together, we carry the common banners to thwart [the formation of] a left-wing government. The current government has not done enough to restore the power of the judges … to its original dimensions. The public wants to move rightward, to vote Right and get Right, a balanced judicial system. It wants to move rightward because it is proud of its Jewish identity and heritage and in no way will be ashamed of it or hide in the public sphere."

For his part, Peretz said that one of his goals as education minister was to have students "reconnect to the Bible."

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Earlier Monday, Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu had been holding consultations about whether or not to fire Smotrich, who also heads the National Union faction in the United Right, over harsh criticism that Smotrich levelled at Netanyahu on Sunday.

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Smotrich called Netanyahu "weak" after the latter decided to cancel an event for the haredi sector in Afula, which was scheduled to be held with completely separate seating for men and women.

A few Likud officials told Israel Hayom that "Smotrich went too far."

"True, we're in an election, and everyone has to sharpen their message to their voters, but Smotrich went too far. There is a way to speak about the prime minister, even in a situation like this," the officials said.

On Twitter, Smotrich said, "This is a stupid legal system. I'm sorry, but despite my status, I can't find a gentler world. Progressive, fundamentalist, stupidity … the prime minister is weak. 100% of this nonsense is happening on his watch. Zero leadership. Zero governance. Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber [who has publicly backed a High Court ruling against gender-based separation at public events] is the real prime minister."

Smotrich went on to tweet that he urged the leaders of the nation's religious and haredi parties to "inform the prime minister, today, that they will make joining any future government under him conditional on making the necessary changes to the law to stop the 'secular coercion' and allow the religious public to live according to its beliefs."

Approximately an hour later, Smotrich tweeted again, somewhat softening his tone toward Netanyahu.

"I realize that there are some who were offended by the tweet on behalf of the prime minister. I'm one of those who never stops praising his diplomatic capabilities. But he can't be given credit for what is good here and exempted from responsibility for what is bad. For 10 years he has allowed the court system to destroy our wonderful country," Smotrich tweeted.

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"We are not in disagreement … We all, if we could, would like the State of Israel to act according to the Torah and Jewish law. We just can't because there are other people who think differently, and we need to get along with them. But we often encounter supposed contradictions that can be mitigated without needing to pay a price."

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Smotrich began by saying, "I believe that with care and attention, we can solve a majority of the problems. No doubt, one of the hot potatoes at the Transportation Ministry is work on Shabbat – infrastructure work, the train, the Yehudit Bridge [in Tel Aviv]. And it seems to me that, just like we know how to have an industry that is sustainable without polluting the atmosphere, we know how to have a modern state that must lay out infrastructure on a grand scale – without violating Shabbat."

Smotrich emphasized, "It's true, it demands care and attention. From the outset of the process, no one decided that the Yehudit Bridge needed to be engineered so that we need to close the Ayalon Highway for three consecutive days.

"If the Shabbat was an important value, then .… [the planners would know] this needs to be taken into consideration from the first stage."

He continued: "This is true regarding the question of whether we close a road or not. Roads are closed for competitions and marches, roads can also be closed in order to lay a bridge on a weekday. When there are will and attention, both can be done. There is not always a contradiction."

Yisrael Beytenu party chief Avigdor Lieberman blasted Smotrich for the remarks.

"It is unbelievable how, yet again, without blinking, we hear Minister Smotrich declare that if it were up to him and his friends, they would cancel the laws in the State of Israel and force a state governed by Jewish law on us that operates only according to Torah law."

He added, "We've got news for you: You won't need to get along with us because on Sept. 18 [the day after the election], a broad nationalist, liberal government will be established without you and without all those trying to force a state on us that is governed by Jewish law."

Responding to Lieberman's criticism, Smotrich said, "It was because of baseless hate that Jerusalem was destroyed. How sad that at the height of the days of mourning of Bein ha-Metzarim [the three weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av], there are those among us who remind us of the terrible rift that led to nothing more than hate."

"This morning, it was [Blue and White party leader Yair] Lapid, and this evening, it's Lieberman. They tell me, 'give it back to him,' but I remind myself why I am not fixing my beard, avoiding eating meat and following other mourning practices. I will not fall into this trap. Not at this time."

Smotrich concluded by saying, "I suggest and ask that everyone before they are influenced by the hatred and categorization, watch the full clip of my speech at the Beit Hill conference of rabbis. Therefore love truth and peace."

Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz took to Twitter to assert that "Smotrich wants a state governed by Jewish law. [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will give it to him in return for immunity."

In a statement, the Democratic Union said, "These are the people who the suspect from Balfour [Street in Jerusalem, where the Prime Minister's Residence is located] has given the keys to run the state, and all so that they can rescue him from the terror of the law. We must win the coming election. A loss would mean Smotrich turning the State of Israel into a state that is governed according to Jewish law, in return for immunity from Netanyahu's prosecution."

Smotrich once again responded to the criticism, saying, "The things I said are called consideration for other sectors of the public. This is a democracy. I am not prepared to have a sector trampled on because of my beliefs – not the haredim, not the secular. I am also prepared for a variety of opinions to be voiced even if they are not my own. All of this is missing from Lieberman's and Lapid's discourse. Look at all of my remarks and not a quarter of a sentence."

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There were unpopular comments about "conversion therapy" for the LGBTQ community that kept the entire country busy.

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Peretz, a yeshiva head and educator, "found himself" in politics. The dark circles under his eyes seem to cry out, "What do I need this for?" The friendly smile from when he first started out in politics a few months ago is now running almost on auto-pilot. And he is being very, very careful about what he says.

In the past few weeks, Peretz, or as he is better known in religious Zionist circles, "Rabbi Rafi," has been at the epicenter of political events like former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked's return to politics. Plenty of headlines have focused on the tension between the two. On Sunday, Peretz announced that he would be forgoing the top spot on a united list of right-wing parties. On Monday, his party and Shaked's agreed to make a joint run for the Knesset, with Shaked as No. 1.

'The talks were conducted in good spirit'

"I'm calm and at peace with what happened at the start of the week," Peretz tells Israel Hayom in his first interview after the unification was announced. "It was a special week, a week where we had to live up to our commitment to the public to form mergers. We stayed focused on responsibility toward the nation, and that's how I approached this week. When I realized that to save the right-wing government and strengthen religious Zionism, I had to step aside, I decided I would step aside."

Q: How hard were the negotiations? How far apart were you?

"There were a lot of differences, a lot of thought and discussion, [but] everything was handled in good spirit. I met with Ayelet and [former education minister] Naftali Bennett a few times prior to this week. We reached all kinds of watersheds, we realized that the only way to solve them was to have a marathon sit-down."

Q: For weeks, there was bad blood between you two. You were accused of not giving up your spot to Shaked, despite the polls [showing that she was more popular] and that you were the one holding up the merger.

"I was looking ahead. What was important to me was being part of a strong right-wing government under [Prime Minister Benjamin ] Netanyahu. It's important to me, and I understand that to make that happen we mustn't lose a single vote. There were a lot of negotiations for mergers. Gladly, it came to pass with the United Right."

Q: Were there moments when the negotiations were on the brink of blowing up?

"The negotiations were salvaged when I decided to give Ayelet the top spot. Later, we sat down together and achieved some very good things. We [Habayit Hayehudi] didn't give up our place on the list. We wanted five out of the top eight spots, and six places in the top 10, and that's what we got. I think that when we go to our voters, they'll see that it was a fair offer. Everyone had to pay a price. … It's the people of Israel who are benefiting, and that's the main thing, as far as I'm concerned. If I'd wanted to worry about myself, I'd have done things differently. Maybe even stayed at home," Peretz says, laughing.

Q: In effect, Habayit Hayehudi made two concessions – both on leading the joint list and on places on the list. You wanted the New Right [under Bennett and Shaked] to have only three out of the top 10 spots, and in the end, they got four.

"Even those four places came after lengthy discussions. I don't feel like we lost. I'm sure that unity is the winning card."

Q: There was a debate about recommending Netanyahu as prime minister and having him form the next government. You insisted that the agreement state in writing that he will be your only recommendation. They wanted to recommend "a right-wing candidate."

"That's right. I insisted we recommend Netanyahu as prime minister. That was a condition."

Q: Why?

"Because I think he does his work faithfully. I've had the privilege of seeing him up-close these past few months, and I see his work, his thinking. He does a lot for Israel in the world. He understands the issue of the Land of Israel, he won't evacuate settlements, and he will stand up to [US President] Trump. We'll need a prime minister who will take a strong stance like that."

Q: Why didn't they [the New Right] want to recommend him?

"Ask them. Ultimately, it wasn't unilateral. We all agreed and went with it."

Q: Some on the Right are speaking out against absolute support for Netanyahu. They say he's giving money to Hamas, evacuated [the settlement of] Amona, not evacuating Khan al-Amar. That he isn't exactly enacting your agenda.

"I never said he is the embodiment of everything I think, but politically, he's closest to my opinions. He's the most loyal to the Right, to the Land of Israel, to the values of Jewish tradition."

Q: During the negotiations, there was discussion about attacking Netanyahu in your campaign. You demanded that it not happen. Did you win?

"We won't attack him. In our previous campaign, and the current one, we don't denigrate others. Last time, we spoke a bit about Bennett and Shaked leaving Habayit Hayehudi, but other than that, we talk ourselves up, speak well of others, of the prime minister. We believe that's what a real campaign is."

Q: Shaked and Bennett have reason to worry. In recent years, Netanyahu sounded out [former Labor leader] Isaac Herzog as a possible coalition partner before reaching out to the religious Zionists. Aren't you concerned that Netanyahu might reach out to others this time, too?

"If we succeed in our mission to secure 61 MKs, we can build a government. I'm sure that the prime minister will see us as his natural partners and want to build the next government with us."

Q: And if you don't?

"They'll need to wrack their brains about what to do."

Q: Do you think a right-wing government is possible without Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman?

Lieberman will lead to Disengagement II

"We've already been there. If we'd had one more seat, we'd have been there. Our base is stable at 61 MKS, without Lieberman. One of the goals of the merger was to get to 61 seats. The intention of the merger was not to secure the minimum possible – we want to bring a spirit of unity. A spirit of partnership, a spirit that will cause many different sectors to join us."

"The religious Zionist base is worth 15 seats. If we manage to bring in some traditional Jews, too, maybe it's 17. We'll be in a completely different position. We definitely believe that we can get there. Lieberman is up by four or five seats. Part of the issue is not to allow him to decide who forms the government, but to divert votes from him back to us. We are the only ones to the right of Netanyahu. Everyone can see us as their [political] home."

"As someone who was evicted from his home [in the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip], I'm telling you that Lieberman will lead us to Disengagement II. We see the conference that President Trump organized. It's a welcome initiative, but if we have a left-wing government, the results for the settlements could be catastrophic."

Q: Maybe you're wrong. According to electoral forecasts, a joint run will bring you eight seats. If every right-wing party were to run alone, each one would get five. You'd be bigger.

"We might get five seats, or maybe two wouldn't make it past the minimum electoral threshold. You can't take chances. We're more in need of nine definite seats than 10 possible ones."

'I feel a lot of support'

Peretz, 63, lives in Holot Halutza in the western Negev. He is married to Michal, 60, and a father of 12 – the eldest of whom is 41, and the youngest is 15. He doesn't count his grandchildren for fear of the Evil Eye.

He was born to a traditional Moroccan family that in terms of religious observance was "partly here, partly there," as he puts it. He grew up in Kiryat Yovel in Jerusalem, was accepted to the prestigious yeshiva high school Netiv Meir, and graduated with major-generals Elazar Stern, Yair Naveh, and Prof. Yishai Bar. In his youth, he was an outstanding athlete. In 1973, at age 17, he became the national decathlon champion.

He served in the Israeli Air Force as a helicopter pilot and completed his military service at the rank of major. As a reservist, he trained young pilots. After being released from compulsory service, he studied at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva and at Yeshivat Hakotel in Jerusalem, where he was ordained as a rabbi. In 1992 he founded Otzem, a pre-military academy in Atzmona, which is considered one of the flagship pre-military programs.

On March 7, 2002, as the Second Intifada raged, a terrorist broke into Atzmona, entered the Otzem building, and murdered five of Peretz's students. Over the years, he lost another 10 to various military operations, including brothers Eliraz and Uriel Peretz (who are not related to him). Since then, he says, he has been in very close contact with their mother, activist and educator Miriam Peretz.

In June 2010, Peretz was invited to return to the military as chief IDF rabbi, and made headlines with a directive he issued on mixed-gender military service. The directive, which examined the appropriate integration of men and women in the military, came under criticism from both sides: rabbis argued that it wasn't stringent enough, while women's rights groups claimed he was excluding women.

Another major event of his term as IDF chief rabbi was the question of soldiers who were presumed killed in action during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014. His role demanded that he declare the deaths of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, and he was the one who gave the awful news to their families. Peretz says he is still in contact with Goldin's father, Simcha, as well as with the families of other missing soldiers.

A few months before the April 9 election for the 21^st Knesset, after Shaked and Bennett left Habayit Hayehudi, Peretz answered a call to the colors to try and save the religious Zionist party, which polls showed failing to pass the minimum threshold. On election day, the party wound up with five seats, which led to him being appointed as education minister.

The public issue is greater than the personal. This merger is a merger until the election.

Q: Let's go back to the negotiations for a merger of the smaller right-wing parties. How difficult was it for you to give up your place to Shaked?

"It was hard, but not hard in the personal sense. I thought that the head of the religious Zionist party should be someone who came from there. But now we're opening up a new horizon of a united Right, in which we'll let the electorate win. The public issue is greater than the personal. This merger is a merger until the election. When I realized that to demonstrate responsibility toward the nation, this is what I needed to do - that's what I did."

Q: What happened that made you realize that after so many weeks of opposition?

"We learned our lesson in the last election – that there was a risk we wouldn't make it over the minimum threshold. Slowly, I began to understand the big picture from the polls, and from tests of popularity. We want to bring in another seat so the right-wing government will win, and that's what needed to be done."

Q: Three weeks ago, in an interview to Channel 12, you said that "seats aren't the main issue." Now it sounds like you're saying something different.

"I'm interested in seats, and I realized that we couldn't reach the number of seats [we needed] any other way. I'm concerned with responsibility toward the country."

Q: But the New Right didn't make it past the minimum threshold at all, unlike you. Why did you need to step aside? Did you feel pressure from the public?

"There wasn't pressure in the sense of a growing tide on the street. It was a true, deep, sense that we need to do everything possible so that a right-wing government can win. In the last election, those who split, lost, and those who united, won."

Q: Why do you think Ayelet Shaked is predicted to bring in more voters? Because she's a woman? Because she's secular?

"That's a question you should ask other people, maybe journalists. I tried to accept the data at face value. Not dig. Maybe one day I'll look into it."

Q: What did people around you say when you stepped aside?

"I feel a lot of support from those around me for the move and the merger. The public wanted unity."

I espouse devotion, faithfulness, Jewish tradition, love of the people and the land ... Secularists don't need to be afraid of us. The opposite – with Ayelet Shaked and other figures they can identify with, there is room for everyone."

Q: A lot of secular right-wingers say they have no one for whom to vote. Some don't want Netanyahu, but also don't want a religious-national religious party with people who talk about a state that is governed by Jewish law and conversion therapy for the LGBTQ community.

"Religious Zionism reaches all parts of society. I'm from the periphery, live near Gaza, everyone is my brother, either religious or secular. There is no such thing as 'national religious' in my life. … There's a large sector of the public who knows that we have a balanced, loving, religious approach and proudly fly our flags – the flags of the Torah, the Land of Israel, and the state of Israel."

Q: And what should a secular voter who doesn't connect to these values do?

"I won't hide them. These are what we believe in. Anyone they're good for is welcome, we'll embrace them. If they're not? That's fine, I can respect that. They can go elsewhere."

Q: A secular person doesn't connect to a state run by Jewish law.

"That's not something I believe in. I espouse devotion, faithfulness, Jewish tradition, love of the people and the land. I hope that in the next few months and years we can show that we truly love this nation. Believe in it. Secularists don't need to be afraid of us. The opposite – with Ayelet Shaked and other figures they can identify with, there is room for everyone."

Q: What will happen with your united list after the election?

"We don't plan to stay together. It's a 'technical bloc." Maybe for the coalition negotiations, but there is no intention of staying together after that."

Q: After the merger was announced, the Likud put out a strongly-worded message that it was a "fake" merger and the fact that you didn't bring in Otzma Yehudit was putting the right-wing government at risk and would lead to its downfall. What did you think about that?

"We made an effort. I personally made an enormous effort to bring Otzma Yehudit on board and ignore a lot of things that happened along the way, including the way they were speaking. Before the big merger I said, let's sit down and join together, take the 4^th and 8^th places on the list."

Q: Did Netanyahu promise you that if you didn't merge with the New Right, you would stay on as education minister?

"I don't remember him saying anything like that. In any case, in the upcoming negotiations, I'll ask to be education minister."

Q: How do you see the relations between Netanyahu and Ayelet Shaked?

"You need to ask them. I'm not their spokesperson. From what I've seen, when Shaked was in the government with him, she was a good justice minister. She did good work, brought in good judges and rabbinical court judges and helped move good laws forward."

Q: That's interesting, because the prime minister pressured you not to merge with her.

"There was no pressure like that. The prime minister and I talk a lot. He didn't say don't form a merger. That's incorrect."

Q: There was talk that you said yourself, or other religious Zionist rabbis said, that a woman can't serve as party leader.

"There's some confusion. I said that a religious Zionist party, like Habayit Hayehudi, should be led by someone who grew up in the religious Zionist community. A person who follows the commandments. Man or woman, it doesn't matter, the main thing is that they grew up in [the community] and understand religious Zionism. Ayelet Shaked is head of the United Right, which is a broader list, that's not restricted to the religious, and there's certainly no problem with that."

'Itsik Shmuli was embarrassing'

I ask Peretz to what extent he regrets entering politics. He takes a deep breath. "I didn't come from political circles. I came in knowing that I'd been given a mission – to try and raise religious Zionism to its natural place. That mission isn't complete. I want to finish it, and we'll do that in the next government. In the next few years, we'll try and make it back into the center of things."

Q: You were prominent in the religious world, a pilot in the reserves. You had a prestigious pre-military academy. When you go to sleep at night, do you ask yourself, 'What do I need this for?'

"I go to sleep late, and when I do, I fall asleep right away. I learned that if you're a soldier who is faithful to his path and his vision, you don't need to be afraid of a long road ahead."

Q: Does that mean you don't regret your remarks?

"The most important thing for me is to be able to look at myself in the mirror and ask if I'm being faithful to my values, my truth, to the mission I took upon myself. When the answer is yes, I'll keep going with all my strength. When I falter, I'll resign. I don't have any regrets."

Q: In the cabinet, you voted in favor of a plan to build hundreds of housing units for Palestinians in Area C.

"What is happening now in Area C when it comes to Palestinians taking over open land has to do with a lack of governance and a 'Wild West' situation. Israel can't abandon its rights to its last land. In a few years, Area C will be full of Palestinian buildings and we'll be left with a headline."

"The plan approved by the cabinet finally regulates construction there. The IDF and the Civil Administration will enforce the law, thereby protecting land for the state of Israel in the best way possible."

Q: Are you certain you will be given the education portfolio again?

"I'm certain that I'll ask for it again. As far as I'm concerned, I've been here at the ministry for 10 years."

Q: And if you don't get it? What will you ask for?

"Anything having to do with areas of Israeli industry. To build and develop the land … Building up the country is important to me."

Q: What have you learned from the six months in politics?

"That the mission to save Habayit Hayehudi in the election was a great success, and you don't need to be popular in the media to know that you're on the right path. I learned a great lesson from politics – that to step aside isn't considered losing, and that in the end, politics is a collection of people with good intentions who work on behalf of the people of Israel."

"Ayelet, Naftali, and Bezalel [Smotrich, leader of the National Union faction] are good people who are halfway there. We have a common goal, and we will be victorious. There is a party whose four leaders call themselves the 'cockpit.' [Blue and White] They can stay in the air. We're on the ground, from the north of Israel to the south."

It pains me that the political-media discourse doesn't listen and doesn't try to understand what is said.

Q: Let's discuss the controversy over your remarks on conversion therapy.

"Everyone who heard the interview knows very well what I said. Everything I say aims to be sensitive, gentle, to bring people closer. If someone comes to us and asks for help, we'll help them, we'll refer them to a professional. That's all I said. I mean it."

"There was an attempt at a lynch, a culture of hushing up other opinions – anything that carries a whiff of tradition or conservatism. The moment the headline appeared, no one went to look at the interview, because those who watched it understood clearly that I didn't mean the terrible things that people tried to stick to me."

"I'm against these treatments, and in favor of professional counseling for youth in distress who ask for help from their teachers. It pains me that the political-media discourse doesn't listen and doesn't try to understand what is said. Only two politicians called me to clarify what I said before responding. I'm keeping their names a secret, and I admire them deeply."

Q: Labor MK Itsik Shmuli accused you of creating the atmosphere that led to a stabbing outside of an LGBTQ youth center in Tel Aviv last Friday.

"The public spots cheap populism, even during an election. It's no coincidence that the Left hasn't been in power for years. Shmuli was dancing in the blood of the victim for the sake of petty politics. That's embarrassing."

Q: What have you learned from the scandal?

"That you need to exercise caution, not to provide a trigger for public criticism over something that has nothing to do with what actually happened."

Q: Why 'nothing to do with it'? You even apologized.

"I didn't apologize, I clarified. I said I was against conversion therapies in their aggressive form. I have nothing to do with that. I explained what I said, which was how I respond if a student comes to me and seeks advice on this matter. [I approach them] with an embrace, with acceptance, with support. If I see that there is reason to refer them to a professional – I do."

High school-age kids should go hiking around the country, volunteer where they can, and not fly off for all sorts of shady entertainment.

'Protests are welcome, vandalism and violence are not'

Q: How are you finding the Education Ministry?

"It's a wonderful, exciting place. We deal mainly with building the future of the people of Israel and the state of Israel. What the next generation will look like."

Q: If we judged based on recent events in Cyprus [in which a group of Israeli teens sexually humiliated a British tourist, who made false accusations of rape], it doesn't look great.

"That was a horrifying incident that should shake up the entire country. Moral guidelines have become rotten. And it doesn't matter that they were released. This was immoral behavior that should keep parents and teachers up at night. The fact that they treated the young woman like an object is something terrible. High school-age kids should go hiking around the country, volunteer where they can, and not fly off for all sorts of shady entertainment. I don't understand why parents allow their kids to travel to places like these. It corrupts the soul. Is there any lack of other places to vacation?"

Q: How do you see the recent wave of protests by Israelis of Ethiopian descent? Racism is a matter of education, too.

"Their protest comes from a place of pain. I understand it. There truly is a need to fix the issue at its roots. I know the community up close. They are people of action, simply wonderful; people who love the country and the state and are hurt at how they're treated. In the Education Ministry, we're doing a lot to fix the situation, enormous amounts of funds are being earmarked just for that. Just this week, the cabinet approved a budget for scholarships for an extra year of high school for Ethiopian Israeli students."

Q: What is your opinion of the violence that took place during the protests?

"Protests are legitimate and welcome, rioting on cars and breaking windows is vandalism and violence. That escalates things, and I oppose that. But again, I'm stressing that today the educational gaps are closing and there is more participation [by Ethiopian Israelis] in informal educational frameworks – after-school activities, youth movements, and young leadership. That's how we'll move toward change and equality."

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According to the agreement reached between the parties, Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz will hold the No. 1 slot on the list, followed by Shafir. Barak will be placed 10th at his own insistence, according to a statement released by the faction Thursday. He will, however, be guaranteed the first pick of ministerial posts if the party enters the government.

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Former GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, who recently joined Barak's party, was allotted the third slot on the list, with former Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg placed fourth. The top 10 places also reserve two other slots for candidates from Barak's party.

Shafir decided to leave Labor after she failed to convince new Labor chairman Amir Peretz to run on a joint ticket with Meretz and Barak.

The leaders of the new list issued a joint statement saying, "The initiators of the union believe that the establishment of the 'Democratic Union' is the first, vital step in the mission to bring Israel back onto the right path."

Zandberg called the decision "a dramatic move to strengthen the Left" and said it would strengthen "the positions of justice and equality as an alternative to a messianic, corrupt Right."

Barak tweeted a message to Peretz: "Amir, you were given bad advice from a bad advisor to join [Prime Minister] Netanyahu's chorus of liars … there is still time to fix this."

Meanwhile, the New Right and the United Right are still dealing with major rifts that could prevent them from joining forces in the upcoming election.

According to sources involved in negotiations on a possible joint ticket, the right-wing parties are divided over "basic issue" about who would head the list – former Justice Minister and New Right leader Ayelet Shaked or Education Minister Rafi Peretz – as well as how MKs would be placed.

Both parties claimed Wednesday that they wanted to run on a joint ticket, but each blamed the other for the failure to reach a deal. Sources in the United Right said, "Once again, the New Right is trusting polls and 'likes.'"

Shaked's party said in response that half the spots on the list would go to candidate from each party. "The technical bloc will be headed by the candidate who can bring in the largest number of seats, and that is Shaked," the New Right said.

Farther to the Right, Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir and Zehut leader Moshe Feiglin have reportedly reached basic understandings that could lead to them running on a single ticket in September.

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A spokesman for Education Minister Rafi Peretz confirmed Tuesday that Peretz said that "assimilation is like the Holocaust" in a July 1 session.

Peretz is leader of the national-religious Habayit Hayehudi party, which ran in recent elections as part of the United Right list, and is a former chief military rabbi.

Much of the American Jewish community abides by more liberal streams of Judaism, whereas Orthodoxy prevails among Israeli Jews.

Relations between North American Jews and the Israeli government have been strained in recent years after plans for a mixed-gender prayer area at the Western Wall were scrapped in 2017, and over differing opinions about US President Donald Trump.

The post Education minister: 'Intermarriage is akin to second Holocaust' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

In a letter to Habayit Hayehudi leader Rafi Peretz, party officials wrote, "Unfortunately, over the past few months we have not been treated fairly and your conduct and that of Habayit Hayehudi officials was that of those who use Otzma Yehudit and throw it away."

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The letter stated that Otzma Yehudit running on a joint ticket with Habayit Hayehudi and National Union led to an electoral victory, which if it hadn't been for Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman forcing a new election, could have led to the establishment of a right-wing government.

After mentioning that both Peretz and National Union leader Bezalel Smotrich had been appointed to ministerial posts, the letter says, "Despite all this, and despite the fact that more than 70,000 Otzma Yehudit voters voted for the United Right, over the course of the past few months the conduct by Habayit Hayehudi officials was disgraceful."

"When it was decided that an election would be held, your started holding briefings against Otzma Yehudit. … Every day, we've heard different slanders, and as if that wasn't enough, you even refused to sit down with us and discuss how you could keep your promise, even after you were already appointed to a ministerial position."

The letter admonished Peretz that "this isn't how you treat partners … as the education minister, you know that the correct definition of that behavior is 'ungrateful.'"

The letter concluded with an official declaration that Otzma Yehudit was breaking off its partnership with Habayit Hayehudi: "We were pushed down to unrealistic places [on the list] and received much less than we deserve, and we did so out of responsibility to the public, but apparently our generosity was misinterpreted by you as being able to keep trampling Otzma Yehudit."

According to the signatories of the letter, Otzma Yehudit is working to create partnerships with other parties for the Sept. 17 election that will "strengthen the Right."

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