The Reservists Party, led by former communications minister Yoaz Hendel, held internal primaries on Tuesday, continuing preparations for the upcoming elections, with candidates including reservists, bereaved family members, and wounded IDF veterans.
Thousands of registered members of the Reservists Party voted to determine the party’s candidate list through a digital vote on Tuesday.
A total of 28 candidates will compete in the primaries, the party stated. In addition to bereaved family members and reservists, those running include social activists who have pushed against the coalition’s contentious haredi draft law over the past two years.
The results will be announced on Wednesday after the digital vote takes place.
Among those running is bereaved mother Sandra Alon, whose son, Sgt. Tomer Keren was killed in combat while serving during the Israel-Hamas War.
Alon had told The Jerusalem Post after joining the party in February that she viewed her role in the party as going beyond politics and as a calling to help bereaved families in the country who have tragically lost loved ones.
“This was not about politics for me. I was looking for a platform to help, to help people like me, to help reservists, to help wounded soldiers,” she said.
Shlomi Damari, brother of Dan Damari, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival on October 7, is also among the bereaved family members running in the primaries.
Shortly before the voting on the primaries took place, Shvut Raanan, one of the founders of the Reservists’ Wives Forum, announced that she was withdrawing from the primaries. She had been a main party activist.
The party has presented itself as a response to the leadership vacuum following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, and it advocates for universal conscription. Among its central principles is a refusal to join any government that includes parties whose members do not serve in the IDF.
The Reservists have launched campaigns against the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) and Arab parties ahead of the elections, calling to bar those who do not serve in the IDF from voting and from running for Knesset.
The party still fails to pass the electoral threshold in polls. Hendel has spoken about merging with another party ahead of the elections, though no official announcement has been made on who the expected alliance will be with. General elections are scheduled to take place no later than October 27.
Source:
www.jpost.com
