Religious Zionism publishes partial election slate; final rankings await Zehut additions

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party submits its slate of candidates for the upcoming elections to the Central Elections Committee.

Smotrich heads the ticket, followed by Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strock and MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

Tzvika Mor, former leader of the right-wing Tikva Forum for hostage families, takes the fourth spot, followed by Itamar Eitam, a reservist brigade commander and co-founder of the Reservists – Generation of Victory organization.

Zvi Sukkot, who is currently serving as an MK, is placed at sixth place – considered an unrealistic spot to enter the Knesset, with polls showing Religious Zionism hovering around the electoral threshold.

The lower ranking may be related to several controversial incidents during his term, including his smashing of a Palestinian memorial during an IDF-escorted visit to the West Bank village of Madama.

Prominent lawmakers Ohad Tal, chairman of the Knesset Committee on Public Projects, and Michal Woldiger, chairman of the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee, are also relegated to the largely unrealistic spots, at eighth and 16th respectively.

The announcement lists only Religious Zionism’s candidates and does not include those from Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party, with which it agreed to run as a technical bloc. Under the merger agreement, Feiglin is expected to take second place on the final combined slate, with additional spots reserved farther down the list for representatives of his Zehut party.