‘Winter is coming’: Supporters gather as hawkish ex-general prepares to launch new party

By Sam Sokol 25 August 2026, 6:42 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

A supporter attends the launch of former general Ofir Winter’s new political party in Jerusalem, August 25, 2026. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Ahead of the launch of former IDF general Ofer Winter’s new political party in Jerusalem, activists hand out purple T-shirts bearing the slogan “Winter is Coming” in a font reminiscent of the megahit HBO show Game of Thrones, which is the origin of the phrase.

Winter — who has been the subject of controversy for a decade and was released from the military in 2024 after being passed over for promotion — is targeting hawkish voters who are disappointed with the current government.

Last week, Winter aired a video slamming Israel’s years-long multi-front war as indecisive and urging a change in the country’s security policy.

Many of those in attendance at the launch event appear to hail from the national religious community, but there is also strong secular representation as well as a smattering of Haredim.

His party is reportedly set to consist of both religious and secular candidates who are all new to politics and not “tainted” by the failures surrounding Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023, or by the decades-old sweeping military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men, which he opposes.

Supporters attend the launch of former general Ofir Winter’s new political party in Jerusalem, August 25, 2026. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

“Winter is coming” was the slogan of the noble House of Stark in the show and the book series it was based on, “A Song of Ice and Fire.” In the story’s plotline, it also referred to an anticipated invasion. Politicians across countries have played on the slogan and associated memes since it first appeared on TV more than a decade ago.

Polls published in recent days indicated that Winter’s fledgling right-wing party has the potential to pass the electoral threshold.

However, Winter’s success could harm the far-right Religious Zionism party’s chances of returning to the Knesset and even have the effect of shrinking the bloc of parties supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a poll by Channel 12.

Netanyahu issued a public appeal to voters yesterday not to support smaller right-wing parties that may not pass the 3.25 percent electoral threshold in the October 27 election, warning that it could destroy the current coalition’s chances of retaining power and lead to the election of a “fascist regime.”