Zionist Home-The Reservists chairmen Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel on Sunday announced they would pursue "separate political paths," while stressing that their ideological partnership and decades-long friendship remain intact.
In a joint statement, the two recalled more than 20 years as neighbors and friends, sitting alongside one another in synagogue and serving together for several years in the reserves.
“We both chose to try to serve the public through the political arena as well,” they said. “In some cases together and in all other cases separately, but with a very similar ideological outlook.”
The statement came less than two months after Tropper and Hendel announced that they would run together in the upcoming Knesset election, seeking to create what they described at the time as a significant new Zionist political force.
Their party had failed to pass the electoral threshold in recent polling, along with a group of other small right-wing parties that have recently emerged, which have been informally termed "the third bloc."
“In recent weeks, we established Zionist Home-The Reservists together, with a clear goal: establishing a Zionist government, and making an effort for it to be as broad as possible,” the two said.
They added that the party had succeeded in establishing “an important and significant place” for itself and attracting many supporters.
“However, faced with the complicated political reality, each of us made a personal decision,” Tropper and Hendel said.
Options for Tropper's political future include merging with Eisenkot, Bennett, or Liberman
Several options lay before Tropper's Zionist Home party now, primarily a possible merger with either Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar, Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad, or Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu.
B'Yachad and Yisrael Beytenu will both announce their party lists on Sunday evening, while Yashar will present its slate on Monday.
Eisenkot is currently considered the most serious option, and Tropper would likely make the move together with his associates, Shira Shapira and Elisaf Peretz, creating a political alliance as a group rather than making the move on his own.
Regarding Bennett, the party's slate currently has little room to offer them, while his alliance with Yair Lapid has already added pressure to the candidate list, further reducing the number of available slots and limiting his room to maneuver.
The same difficulty exists with Liberman, as the demand is not for a place for Tropper alone, but for a package that would include all three members of his group, and Liberman is struggling to offer an arrangement of that scope.
Meanwhile, Hendel is now in contact with all the parties in the third bloc regarding an alliance for him to join, his spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post after the announcement of the split.
Among the parties in the third bloc is MK Benny Gantz's Blue and White. There have been reports that Gantz has been considering adding various figures to his list, such as former justice minister Ayelet Shaked, who quit political life in 2022.
Party slates must be finalized and registered this week in order to be eligible for the October 27 election.
If small parties run in the elections and ultimately fail to cross the electoral threshold, the votes that went toward them will not be counted.
Yehuda Shlezinger contributed to this report.