Former New Hope lawmaker Sharren Haskel's newly founded Israel First party will likely not align with Arab parties or the Democrats Party following the Oct. 27 national election, Haskel said Monday.
Haskel called for a broad Zionist government to unite the Israeli people. She stated the next government cannot depend on ultra-Orthodox parties and must be Zionistic in nature, which would exclude Arab parties and the Democrats, led by Yair Golan, citing his previous comments about IDF soldiers. Golan had claimed IDF soldiers fighting Hamas in Gaza "kill babies as a hobby."
"These are not the values I know our army and the incredible people fighting on the front lines come from, and any attempt to tarnish them goes against the values we need in the next government. These are the lines that we draw," Haskel said.
She described Israel First as a right-wing movement prioritizing the Jewish nation. "This is a call for everyone on the right side of the political map to join forces. There are dozens of people who want to enter politics - ideologically right-wing people who feel the need to come and serve the country. I call on all of them to join forces and become part of this platform," She said.
Born in Toronto in 1984, Haskel moved to Israel a year later. She served in the Israel Border Police in Jerusalem during the Second Intifada, entered the Knesset with Likud in 2015, and has worked as a right-wing lawmaker for 11 years. She sat on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and founded a Knesset caucus in 2017 focused on reforming UNRWA, subsequently campaigning internationally against the agency's use by terrorist organizations.
She recently resigned as deputy foreign minister and left Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope party to launch her new movement.