Middle East Forum Israel Election 2026
Parties / Netanyahu bloc (37th government parties)

Religious Zionist Party with Zehut (technical bloc) הציונות הדתית בראשות בצלאל סמוטריץ' עם זהות

6
MEF poll average, seats
4 to 8
range in window
7
seats now
Seats in every 2026 poll; line is a five-poll rolling mean; dotted line = threshold
Leader
Bezalel Smotrich, Finance Minister; RZP chairman; ranked 1 on joint list. Zehut chairman Moshe Feiglin (not an MK) ranked 2. [source, 2026-09-01]
Bloc
Netanyahu bloc (37th government parties)
Founded
RZP traces to Tkuma, founded 1998 as a split from the National Religious Party; renamed Religious Zionist Party in 2021 (wiki-only: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Zionist_Party). Zehut founded 2015 by Moshe Feiglin (wiki-only).
Seats, 25th Knesset
7
Status 2026
joint list with Zehut as a technical bloc, agreement signed 2026-09-01; parties keep separate identities and may split after the election (Ynet https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/B1ItBvEdMe, 2026-09-01; i24 https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israeli-elections/artc-smotri... 2026-09-01). RZP polled below the 3.25 percent threshold alone in a Channel 12 Midgam poll (2.6 percent) and at 5 seats jointly (INN https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432511, 2026-08-31). Offer to add Ofer Winter's Amcha Yisrael was rejected by Winter (INN https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432582, 2026-09-02).
List status
Filed with the CEC on 2026-09-08; 34 candidates as submitted to the Central Elections Committee; not yet certified (CEC approval of lists due 2026-09-27). Ballot name: הציונות הדתית בראשות בצלאל סמוטריץ' וזהות בראשות משה פייגלין.
MEF poll average
6; range 4 to 8 across 15 polls in the window

Background

The party descends from Tkuma (1998) and adopted the Religious Zionist Party name in 2021 (wiki-only). In November 2022 it ran with Otzma Yehudit and Noam, winning 14 seats, and split into three factions on 2022-11-20 with RZP holding 7 (Knesset press release https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/News/PressReleases/Pages/pres...). Smotrich has served as Finance Minister and minister in the Defense Ministry since December 2022 (JPost https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-905686, 2026-08-18). Ministers Ofir Sofer and MK Moshe Solomon announced in July 2026 they would not run again, citing differences including over the Haredi draft (JPost https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/art... 2026-07-15; INN https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430294, 2026-07-16). A central-committee primary on 2026-07-26 placed Orit Strock first among elected candidates (Ynet https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/h1ekf2qrgg, 2026-07-26). On 2026-09-01 Smotrich signed a technical-bloc agreement with Moshe Feiglin's Zehut (JPost https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907259).

Knesset list

Order and Hebrew names as filed with the Central Elections Committee (CEC list page, 2026-09-08). Lists are as submitted and not yet certified; the CEC is due to approve lists on 27 September 2026. Party of record in brackets for joint lists. † marks names whose English spelling is transliterated from the filing rather than taken from English-language press.

  1. Bezalel Smotrich סמוטריץ בצלאל יואל (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  2. Moshe Feiglin פייגלין משה זלמן (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  3. Orit Strook סטרוק אורית מלכה (עתיד אחד - עתיד טוב לישראל) [source, 2026-09-08]
  4. Simcha Rothman רוטמן שמחה דן (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  5. Tzvika Mor מור צבי (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  6. Itamar Eitam † איתם איתמר מרדכי (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  7. Zvi Sukkot סוכות צבי ידידיה (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  8. Yitzhak Chai Zaga † זאגא יצחק חי (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  9. Reut Ben Chaim † בן חיים רעות (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  10. Omer Fatsiniash Waldman † פציניאש וולדמן עומר (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  11. Arkady Motter † מוטר ארקדי (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  12. Ohad Tal טל אוהד (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  13. Roi Kirshberg † קירשברג רועי (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  14. Omer Rahamim רחמים עומר (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  15. Simon Hasson † חסון סימון (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  16. Shmuel Shashon ששון שמואל (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  17. Shirel Nahir † נהיר שיראל (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  18. Tzvika Vishingrad וישינגרד צבי (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  19. Iris Bernstein † ברנשטיין איריס (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  20. Eitam Tam תם איתן (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  21. Yehuda Schwartzman † שוורצמן יהודה (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  22. Moshe Peled † פלד משה (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  23. Elad Izbutzki † איזבוצקי אלעד (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  24. Yosef Bachar † בכר יוסף (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  25. Chagai Grinzeig † גרינצייג חגי (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  26. Natan Zaubman זאוברמן נתן משה (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  27. Stanislav Tovlevsky † טובלסקי סטניסלב (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  28. Avraham Chaim Elber Diskin † דיסקין אברהם חיים אלבר (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  29. Shulamit Esther Leibler † לייבלר שולמית אסתר (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  30. Michal Waldiger וולדיגר מיכל מרים (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, 2026-09-08]
  31. Avraham Shmuel Leibler † לייבלר אברהם שמואל (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  32. Yosef Chaim Shoshan † שושן יוסף חיים (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  33. Elisha Mendelson † מענדלסון אלישע (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]
  34. Felix Neuber † נויבר פליקס (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, 2026-09-08]

Platform and positions

otherNo 2026 platform document accessed: the RZP site zionutdatit.org.il returned HTTP 403 on 2026-09-03. Items below are leader statements. At the Zehut signing Smotrich named security, settlement, the judicial system and preventing a Palestinian state as the issues at stake. [source, 2026-09-01]
GazaLeader statement. Smotrich told students at the Sderot yeshiva: 'The State of Israel must agree to take responsibility for Gaza. To conquer it completely, establish a military government there, establish Jewish settlement there.' [source, 2026-08-18]
GazaLeader statement. Smotrich said Israel 'will return to the whole of Gaza in a big way' and should 'erase' the Oslo Accords. [source, 2026-07-08]
IranLeader statement. Smotrich called the emerging US-Iran agreement bad and said Lebanon is now the main arena in which Israel will be tested. [source, 2026-06-15]
IranLeader statement. Smotrich said he stayed in the government in 2025 to preserve the campaign against Iran: 'I knew that we were going to a campaign to remove an existential threat, a nuclear Iran.' [source, 2026-08-14]
Haredi draftParty voting record. RZP supported the 2026-07-14 law freezing arrests of Haredi draft evaders, which passed 58 to 54; the vote cost Smotrich support among settlers and led Sofer and Solomon to leave. [source, 2026-08]
judiciaryParty profile. JPost describes the RZP platform as focused on Jewish identity, settlement expansion, sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, security and judicial reform. [source, 2026-08-18]
otherLeader statement on alliances. Smotrich in August said RZP 'can and should run on its own' and would not run with Ben Gvir; on 2026-09-01 he called the Zehut deal 'the first alliance, but not the last'. [source, 2026-08-13]

Recent moves

What MEF has published

Not verified

Sources