After Netanyahu's intervention, the electoral pact with Jewish Power is almost certain to ensure Ben Gvir makes it into the next parliament.
He has the third slot on Religious Zionism's candidate list and current polls suggest the group will win between four and five seats.
Criticizing Netanyahu's role as matchmaker, the Haaretz daily accused him of awarding "a kashrut [kosher] certificate to Kahanism" - the racist ideology that underpins Jewish Power.
Maximizing seatsNetanyahu's aim is to ensure that the most extreme, small right-wing religious parties combine to pass the threshold and don't waste votes that could be the difference between victory for his ultra-nationalist bloc and a win for his opponents.
As one Israeli analyst noted, Netanyahu's dependence on Religious Zionism maximizing its seat count means he will be committed to doing everything possible to push the "ticket over the threshold" in the final stages of the campaign.
At the same time as aiding the extreme right, Netanyahu has also worked hard to break up the Joint List, a faction representing Israel's large minority of Palestinian citizens.
He is not only trying to maximize seats in his favor, he is trying to weaken the coalition of parties ranged against him.
It is not the first time Netanyahu has sought to bring Jewish Power into the parliament, despite its overt Jewish supremacist politics. He brokered a similar deal in time for the April 2019 election, though Ben Gvir was not placed high enough to win a seat.
On that occasion, leading Jewish American organisations including AIPAC voiced their opposition, calling Jewish Power a "racist and reprehensible party."
It has been notable that on this occasion there has been much less of a backlash.
In the new deal, Ben Gvir has a far more prominent place alongside Bezalel Smotrich's National Union party, which has joined Netanyahu's governments in the past. The third partner is Noam, another religious far-right party in a crowded field whose distinguishing feature is its venomous homophobia.
This has brought vocal opposition from other quarters. Ohad Hizki, head of an Israeli LGBT task force, responded: "Netanyahu has violated his promises to the gay community time and again, but this time a red line has been crossed that cannot be silently accepted."
Banned from runningPrevious Jewish Power leaders have been banned from standing by a judge-led Central Election Committee, comprising representatives from the major parties. However, Ben Gvir has faced no challenge.
Rather, he went on the offensive himself, petitioning the committee for a blanket ban on candidates who are Palestinian citizens of Israel, claiming they were all "terrorist supporters."
Jewish Power's electoral weakness since its founding reflects in part the fact that it has had difficulty differentiating itself ideologically from the larger mainstream parties as they move ever further rightwards.
It has also been stymied by the constraint that its platform must remain ostensibly within the law. Its vulgarity rather than its policies appears to put off many voters on the right.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
