Talks Underway Between Tzibur HaCharedi Party And Ofer Winter Over Possible Merger

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A senior source in the new Tzibur HaCharedi party headed by Motty Leitner says that the party is currently holding talks with Ofer Winter’s political camp regarding the possibility of joining forces ahead of the elections.

According to the source, the discussions are one of the reasons Winter has so far refrained from adding a prominent Charedi representative to his list, despite his calling it Amcha Yisrael, an attempt to include all denominations in Israeli society.

“These are not new talks,” the source added. “The discussions have been ongoing for months, and the two sides have remained in close and continuous contact throughout that period.”

The source said there is significant alignment between the two sides on some of the most important issues facing Israel, including a strong security doctrine, greater Charedi participation in Israeli society, national unity, and maintaining a strong and secure Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria.

The source stressed that no agreement has yet been reached, but said the talks are serious and that the ideological overlap between the two parties creates a natural basis for further discussions. 

Winter’s natural base is fairly obvious: religious-nationalist, security-minded, hawkish voters who are attracted to his military background and post-October 7 message. His new party is competing, at least in part, with Likud, Religious Zionism and Ben Gvir for right-wing voters who are fed up with those who have been in power during the judical upheaval and the protracted war since October 7.

Leitner gives him access to a different pool of voters: working charedim, charedim who favor military/civic service, and charedim who feel increasingly disconnected from Shas and UTJ.

That is particularly significant because Leitner’s party was explicitly created around the idea that there is a charedi constituency that doesn’t feel represented by the traditional parties.

There is also a symbolic advantage. Winter’s image is heavily associated with his military career and religious-nationalist identity. Putting a charedi figure alongside him changes the visual and political story from:”religious general creates another right-wing party” to: “a national camp bringing together religious Zionists, charedim and other right-wing Israelis.”

That in itself is a much more ambitious political proposition, one that dampens the sectorial nature of Winter’s party and gives it a more national flavor.