The Religious Zionist Party cleared Israel’s electoral threshold for the first time in weeks, reaching four Knesset seats, according to the Friday Maariv poll, conducted by Lazar Research with Panel4All on Wednesday and Thursday.
The shift may reflect public statements by party members that they would not back the government’s draft-exemption bill for the haredi (ultra-Orthodox), the survey indicated.
The poll shows the coalition bloc rising to 53 seats, up four from the previous survey, driven by the Religious Zionist Party’s gains. The opposition bloc gained 57 seats, while Hadash–Ta’al and Ra’am gained 10 seats combined.
Likud gained 26 seats, Bennett gained 22, Israel Beytenu gained nine, The Democrats gained nine, Yesh Atid gained nine, Otzma Yehudit gained eight, Shas gained eight, Yashar! with Eisenkot gained eight, United Torah Judaism gained seven, Hadash–Ta’al gained five, Ra’am gained five, the Religious Zionist Party gained four. The Reservists Party fell below the threshold at 2.4%.
Public opinion on Netanyahu pardon and voting rights
A majority of Israelis supported President Isaac Herzog granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the poll found. Thirty-eight percent back an unconditional pardon, 27% would support it only if Netanyahu admits guilt and retires from political life, 21% oppose, and 14% have no opinion.
Nearly half of respondents, 45%, support stripping Knesset voting rights from draft-eligible citizens who fail to report for service. Thirty-eight percent oppose, and 17% have no opinion.
The survey was conducted December 3–4 among 500 respondents, a representative sample of Israel’s adult population, Jewish and Arab, ages 18 and over. The maximum sampling error is 4.4%, according to Lazar Research.
Registrar approves ‘Reservists’ party name
In a related development, the Registrar of Political Parties approved the new party led by Yoaz Hendel to use the name “The Reservists” after a Likud petition argued the name could mislead the public and offend public policy.
With the petition dismissed, the party can complete registration and begin full activity. According to the poll, however, it remains below the threshold, indicating significant work ahead for the movement.
Hendel criticized Likud, saying, “The ruling party, which encourages evasion and harms the serving public, tried to prevent us from representing it. The term ‘reservists’ holds up an uncomfortable mirror to them.”