Religious Zionist Party with Zehut (technical bloc) הציונות הדתית בראשות בצלאל סמוטריץ' עם זהות
- Leader
- Bezalel Smotrich, Finance Minister; RZP chairman; ranked 1 on joint list. Zehut chairman Moshe Feiglin (not an MK) ranked 2. [source, September 1, 2026]
- Bloc
- Netanyahu bloc (37th government parties)
- Founded
- Separate Knesset faction (7 seats) since 2022-11-20, when the Religious Zionism list split into three factions (Knesset press release https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/News/PressReleases/Pages/pres...). Zehut is led by Moshe Feiglin.
- 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
- Approved by the Central Elections Committee plenum on 2026-09-27; 33 candidates as of the CEC page last updated 2026-09-29. Ballot letters: ט. Ballot name: הציונות הדתית בראשות בצלאל סמוטריץ' וזהות בראשות משה פייגלין.
- MEF Poll Average
- 7; range 6 to 8 across 7 polls in the window
Background
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 from the Central Elections Committee (CEC list page, 2026-09-29). Lists are as approved by the CEC plenum on September 27, 2026, with candidate resignations recorded since; ballot letters: ט. 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.
- Bezalel Smotrich סמוטריץ בצלאל יואל (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Moshe Feiglin פייגלין משה זלמן (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Orit Strook סטרוק אורית מלכה (עתיד אחד - עתיד טוב לישראל) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Simcha Rothman רוטמן שמחה דן (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Tzvika Mor מור צבי (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Itamar Eitam † איתם איתמר מרדכי (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Zvi Sukkot סוכות צבי ידידיה (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Yitzhak Chai Zaga † זאגא יצחק חי (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Reut Ben Chaim † בן חיים רעות (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Omer Fatsiniash Waldman † פציניאש וולדמן עומר (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Arkady Motter † מוטר ארקדי (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Ohad Tal טל אוהד (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Roi Kirshberg † קירשברג רועי (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Omer Rahamim רחמים עומר (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Simon Hasson † חסון סימון (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Shmuel Shashon ששון שמואל (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Shirel Nahir † נהיר שיראל (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Tzvika Vishingrad וישינגרד צבי (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Iris Bernstein † ברנשטיין איריס (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Eitam Tam תם איתן (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Yehuda Schwartzman † שוורצמן יהודה (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Moshe Peled † פלד משה (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Elad Izbutzki † איזבוצקי אלעד (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Yosef Bachar † בכר יוסף (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Chagai Grinzeig † גרינצייג חגי (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Natan Zaubman זאוברמן נתן משה (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Stanislav Tovlevsky † טובלסקי סטניסלב (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Avraham Chaim Elber Diskin † דיסקין אברהם חיים אלבר (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Shulamit Esther Leibler † לייבלר שולמית אסתר (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Michal Waldiger וולדיגר מיכל מרים (האיחוד הלאומי - תקומה) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Yosef Chaim Shoshan † שושן יוסף חיים (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Elisha Mendelson † מענדלסון אלישע (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
- Felix Neuber † נויבר פליקס (זהות- תנועה ישראלית יהודית) [source, September 29, 2026]
Platform and Positions
| other | No 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, September 1, 2026] |
| Gaza | Leader 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, August 18, 2026] |
| Gaza | Leader statement. Smotrich said Israel 'will return to the whole of Gaza in a big way' and should 'erase' the Oslo Accords. [source, July 8, 2026] |
| Iran | Leader statement. Smotrich called the emerging US-Iran agreement bad and said Lebanon is now the main arena in which Israel will be tested. [source, June 15, 2026] |
| Iran | Leader 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, August 14, 2026] |
| Haredi draft | Party 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] |
| judiciary | Party profile. JPost describes the RZP platform as focused on Jewish identity, settlement expansion, sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, security and judicial reform. [source, August 18, 2026] |
| other | Leader 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, August 13, 2026] |
Recent Moves
- 2026-07-15: Aliyah Minister Ofir Sofer announced he would not run again [source, July 15, 2026]
- 2026-07-16: MK Moshe Solomon announced he would not run in the RZP primary [source, July 16, 2026]
- 2026-07-26: RZP central committee primary: Strock, Rothman, Sukkot, Tal, Rahamim, Woldiger, Sasson, Vishengrad, Tam, Zaubman in order; Smotrich kept two reserved picks [source, July 26, 2026]
- 2026-08-13: Smotrich told JPost RZP would not run with Otzma Yehudit [source, August 13, 2026]
- 2026-08-27: Netanyahu publicly called on Smotrich and Ben Gvir to unite [source, August 27, 2026]
- 2026-08-30: Kan poll showed RZP passing the threshold alone; Channel 12 Midgam poll the next day put it at 2.6 percent alone and 5 seats with Zehut [source, August 30, 2026]
- 2026-09-01: Smotrich and Feiglin signed a technical-bloc agreement; Feiglin gets slots 2, 8, 10, 11 [source, September 1, 2026]
- 2026-09-02: Ofer Winter rejected an offer of slot 2 on the Smotrich-Feiglin list; i24 poll gave the joint list a two-seat gain [source, September 2, 2026]
- 2026-09-08: Candidate list filed with the Central Elections Committee (34 names) [source, September 8, 2026]
- 2026-09-24: CEC rejects petition to bar Religious Zionism-Zehut [source, September 24, 2026]
- 2026-09-27: Avraham Shmuel Leibler (No. 31 as filed) was not included in the list the CEC plenum approved on 2026-09-27, following the committee's eligibility checks (sections 62B and 63, Knesset Elections Law) [source, September 27, 2026]
What MEF Has Published
- Israeli Politicians Must Confront Core Issues Before Forthcoming Elections Colin M. Winston, 2026-04-27
- How Doha Captured the International Criminal Court Craig Considine, 2026-06-18
- Trump Reverses Biden's Subjective Weaponization of Sanctions Against Israeli Officials Aaron J. Shuster, 2026-06-24
- The Ghost of Gaza: How Hamas Survived Gregg Roman, 2025-10-10
- Europe's Illegal Land-Grab: Part II Karys Rhea, 2025-05-02
Not Verified
- Founding dates for Tkuma/RZP and Zehut.
- Official RZP platform text (site returned 403).
- Whether the joint list will be filed under the RZP name and ballot letters, and Tzvika Mor's slot (TOI said 3rd at primary time; WIN lists him 5th in the joint list).
- Whether further parties (Noam, Amcha Yisrael) join before the filing deadline.
Sources
- https://www.gov.il/he/pages/tzionutdatit-zehut_list31
- https://worldisraelnews.com/smotrich-feiglin-create-election-alliance-to-consolidate-natio
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907259
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-905489
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-905686
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-905533
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907078
- https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432559
- https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432511
- https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432617
- https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432582
- https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/428666
- https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430294
- https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432339
- https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/B1ItBvEdMe
- https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/h1ekf2qrgg
- https://www.c14.co.il/article/1634666
- https://www.jdn.co.il/news/2700260/
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/settlements-minister-strock-wins-2nd-spot-after-smotrich-in-
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/smotrich-placates-coalition-on-haredi-draft-but-pays-a-cost-
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/smotrich-feiglin-announce-joint-election-run-urge-other-righ
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-905837
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-901850
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-902601
- https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/News/PressReleases/Pages/press211122q.aspx
- https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israeli-elections/artc-smotrich-and-feiglin-join-forces-ahe
- https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-909590
