Pro-Israel activist Yoseph Haddad is moving closer to entering politics, after holding his first activist meeting Monday as he weighs several possible paths ahead of the election.
Haddad is considering whether to form an independent party, join an existing political platform or accept a reserved spot on the Likud slate. In recent weeks, he has reviewed offers from several parties while discussions have continued over whether Likud could reserve him a realistic place on its list.
He is expected to announce his political plans in the coming days. In the meantime, he has begun building a ground operation and testing his support among activists.
Haddad has spent years building a public diplomacy network made up of about 3,000 young activists from across Israel and from different sectors. He now intends to turn that network into part of a political campaign.
During Monday’s meeting, Haddad raised the idea of setting up campaign stands and local headquarters at train stations across the country and at Ben-Gurion Airport, in an effort to reach potential voters, including Israelis returning from abroad ahead of the election.
His name has come up repeatedly in Likud and in other parties. Some parties have made formal approaches to him, while in Likud, consultations are still underway over whether to offer him a reserved spot. The calculation in Likud is that Haddad could help the party appeal to younger voters, a group where it has struggled to gain traction.
Haddad has said recently that he is considering entering political life and is examining his options. The activist meeting suggests that process is now moving from deliberation to organization.
His possible entry comes as Israel’s political map continues to shift ahead of the election.
Chili Tropper, Yoaz Hendel, Shira Shapira and Elisaf Peretz at the press conference
(Photo: Moti Kimchi)
Earlier Tuesday, a week after ynet first reported the move, Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel announced that they would run together on a joint slate with shared leadership. The two are expected to issue a statement later in the day saying they want to form a broad “change government.” They do not intend to join a Netanyahu government and will not help him reach a 61-seat majority.
Hendel, who leads the Reservists Party, had been in talks until recently with Benny Gantz and Dadi Simhi, but those negotiations collapsed. A source familiar with the talks suggested they broke down after Gantz and Simhi rejected Hendel’s demand that they publicly commit not to sit in a government with the Haredi parties. Behind the scenes, Hendel also sought to preserve his party’s independence and split off after the election, something Gantz opposed.
Shortly after the Tropper-Hendel announcement, Shira Shapira, mother of Aner Shapira, said she was joining them. The party described her as “the mother of Israeli hero Aner Shapira” and said she was joining an effort to establish a new Zionist political force.
Shapira is an architect and urban planner with more than 20 years of senior public-sector management experience. She has led broad national projects involving government ministries, local authorities, and cultural and heritage organizations in Israel and abroad.
Soon afterward, Elisaf Peretz, son of Israel Prize laureate Miriam Peretz, also announced that he was joining the new party. His brothers, Lt. Uriel Peretz and Maj. Eliraz Peretz, were killed during military service. The party described him as an educator, reserve soldier and social activist.
The founding list of Tropper’s party also includes former minister Asaf Zamir, now acting mayor of Tel Aviv; Yiftach Ramon, son of Ilan and Rona Ramon, whose brother Asaf was killed in an F-16 crash; Dana Siton Silverman, sister of Shiri Bibas and aunt of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, whose parents were murdered on October 7; Avi Harush, father of Reef Harush, who fell in battle in Khan Younis; and Yehonatan Ben Shabbat, who was seriously wounded in Rafah.
Another possible alliance is taking shape on the right. Over the weekend, MK Yuli Edelstein announced that he was leaving Likud and beginning what he called a “new political path.” That path is expected to include former minister Ayelet Shaked, with whom he has been holding advanced talks on forming a new party.
Former minister Ayelet Shaked and Yuli Edelstein
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky, Yaron Brenner)
Shaked and Edelstein have been coordinating closely in recent weeks on strategy, policy principles and possible candidates. They are also trying to recruit other familiar figures from the political system, including former Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, another former Likud member who has said he is considering a return to politics. Erdan has not yet decided whether to join them.
One complication for Shaked and Edelstein is another potential alliance in the same political space: a possible joint run by Benny Gantz and Dadi Simhi, which has not yet been officially announced. If both alliances move forward, they are expected to compete for similar voters and advance similar principles, including calls for the next government to be formed without Arab parties and without Haredi parties.
Sources close to Edelstein and Shaked say they see two possible strategies. One is to help complete a 61-seat majority for the “bloc for change” if it emerges as the larger bloc with a realistic chance of forming a government. The other is to force the creation of a broad unity government. In their view, the chances of separating Netanyahu from the Haredi parties are slim.
A decision on whether to formally establish the party and run is expected in the next two weeks. If formed, it is expected to target voters on the statesmanlike right, including religious Zionists who currently feel they have no political home.
Shaked and Edelstein have recently met with leading figures from the West Bank and with religious Zionist rabbis as they work to build the framework.