Otzma Yehudit

Otzma Yehudit
עוצמה יהודית‎
LeaderItamar Ben-Gvir
Founded13 November 2012
Merger ofJewish National Front
Hatikva
Split fromNational Union
Eretz Yisrael Shelanu
HeadquartersJerusalem
Ideology
Political positionFar-right
ReligionOrthodox Judaism
National affiliationYachad (2015)
URWP (2019)
Religious Zionist Party (2021–2022; 2022)
Slogan"There are no rights, without duties"[2]
Knesset
6 / 120
Election symbol
נץ‎ (2013, 2020),
כף‎ (2019)
Website
www.ozma-yeudit.co.il

Otzma Yehudit (Hebrew: עָוצְמָה יְהוּדִית, lit. 'Jewish Power'[3] or 'Jewish Strength'[4]) is a far-right,[5][6] ultra-nationalist,[7][8] Kahanist,[9] and anti-Arab political party in Israel.[10] It is the ideological descendant of the outlawed Kach party.[11][12]

The party advocates for the deportation of those who they consider to be the "enemies of Israel", and leader Itamar Ben-Gvir was associated with the original Kach movement, though he now disagrees with the stance of deporting all Arabs from Israel.[13] The party has been widely described in the international press as an extremist, ultranationalist, and racist organisation supporting Jewish supremacy and has been described by multiple sources, including the Israeli sociologist Eva Illouz, as a "Jewish fascist group".[24]

Otzma ran independently in the 2013 elections and as part of a list with ultra-Orthodox party Yachad in 2015. Though in both elections they did not manage to pass the electoral threshold, the Yachad list was around 10,000 votes short of the threshold.[25] Ahead of the first 2019 election, the party ran with the Jewish Home as part of the Union of Right-Wing Parties, after Naftali Bennett abandoned the Jewish Home to form the New Right party. While the Union of Right-Wing Parties passed the threshold, winning five seats, Otzma only held the seventh spot on the list, as their other representative Michael Ben-Ari was banned for incitement.[26][27] After Ben-Ari was banned, Itamar Ben-Gvir was appointed leader of the party.

The party ran independently in the second 2019 election, winning 1.88% of the vote, though some polls had predicted that the party would pass the threshold.[28] Despite coming to an agreement with the Jewish Home to contest the 2020 Israeli legislative election as the United Jewish Home,[29] Otzma was left to run independently when the Jewish Home, the New Right, and Tkuma re-formed Yamina.[30] In the 2021 election, Otzma ran on a joint list with the Religious Zionist Party and Noam, as part of a deal orchestrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that would include the list receiving an extra seat from the Likud list.[31] Following the 2021 election, Ben-Gvir won a seat, with the deal considered to have brought the party into the mainstream of Israeli politics.[13] The party won an additional five seats in the 2022 elections.[32]

  1. ^ "En Israël, le camp suprémaciste juif de retour à la Knesset". Le Monde. 18 April 2021.
  2. ^ "На выборы идет партия Оцма ле-Исраэль". Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  3. ^ Kingsley, Patrick (24 October 2022). "As Israel Votes, Again, Netanyahu Pins Hopes on the Far Right". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Avishai, Bernard (27 February 2019). "Behind Netanyahu's Deal with the Racist Right—and How the Opposition United Against Him". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  5. ^ Hassan Shaalan (15 January 2013). "Rightists protest "illegal construction" in Arab village". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Work starts on new outpost outside Halamish after deadly terror attack". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  7. ^ "US condemns far-right Israeli ministers' call for Palestinians to 'emigrate' from Gaza". France 24. 3 January 2024.
  8. ^ "US condemns Israeli minister Ben Gvir's 'inflammatory' Palestinian comments". BBC. 25 August 2023. Mr Ben Gvir leads the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit
  9. ^ Raphael Ahren (18 February 2015). "The extremist who could bring Kahanism back to the Knesset". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  10. ^ Aaron Kelman (27 January 2013). "Arab town doesn't love anti-Arab party". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  11. ^ "Right of right: Eli Yishai's new party mired in controversy". Ynetnews. 13 March 2015. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Under deal, Kahanist party could receive spot on key panel that appoints judges". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  13. ^ a b Sharon, Jeremy. "Understanding the ominous rise of Israel's most notorious ultra-nationalist". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  14. ^ Mraffko, Clothilde (18 April 2021). "En Israël, le camp suprémaciste juif de retour à la Knesset". Le Monde (in French).
  15. ^ Illouz, Eva (15 November 2022). "La troisième force politique en Israël représente ce que l'on est bien obligé d'appeler, à contrecœur, un "fascisme juif"". Le Monde (in French).
  16. ^ Liba, Dror (21 February 2019). "Otzma Yehudit's history of racism and provocation". Ynet.
  17. ^ Sharon, Jeremy (4 August 2022). "Understanding the ominous rise of Israel's most notorious ultra-nationalist". The Times of Israel.
  18. ^ Halbfinger, David M. (25 February 2019). "Netanyahu Sparks Outrage Over Pact With Racist Party". The New York Times.
  19. ^ "Israel Election: Meet the Extremist Lawmakers About to Join the Government". Haaretz. 3 November 2022.
  20. ^ Sharon, Jeremy (3 March 2019). "What do Otzma Yehudit and its leaders stand for?". The Jerusalem Post.
  21. ^ Solomon, Esther (10 September 2023). "When a Jewish Fascist Moves Into Your Neighborhood". Haaretz.
  22. ^ Zogby, James (23 March 2021). "Netanyahu Is Letting Israel's Fascists Enter by the Front Door". The Nation.
  23. ^ Davis, R., & Taras, D. (2022). "8. Benjamin Netanyahu and Online Campaigning in Israel's 2019 and 2020 Elections". Electoral Campaigns, Media, and the New World of Digital Politics. University of Michigan Press. pp. 163-178. doi:10.1353/book.100677. ISBN 9780472902699.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
  25. ^ Gross, Judah Ari. "Over 235,000 votes thrown in trash". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  26. ^ Bachner, Michael; staff, T. O. I. "Union of Right-Wing Parties demands Education, Justice portfolios". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  27. ^ staff, T. O. I. "Extremist Otzma Yehudit demands top posts after leader banned from Knesset run". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  28. ^ staff, T. O. I. "Polls find extremist Otzma Yehudit edging toward Knesset threshold". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  29. ^ Magid, Jacob (31 December 2019). "Smotrich says he won't join Jewish Home-Otzma Yehudit merger "at any cost"". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  30. ^ "Bennett, Peretz, Smotrich agree to joint run without Ben Gvir". Arutz Sheva. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  31. ^ Staff writer (24 March 2021). "Sa'ar slides, Gantz surprises, Ben Gvir celebrates: Exit poll winners and losers". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  32. ^ Michael Bachner; Staff writer (15 November 2022). "As 25th Knesset sworn in, president urges MKs to end 'addiction' to toxic discourse". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.