Dedy Simhi says his emerging alliance with Gantz would sit with anyone but Arab parties

Political newcomer Dedy Simhi said Sunday that his emerging alliance with Blue and White chief Benny Gantz would be prepared to join a coalition with everyone except for the Arab parties.

Asked by Army Radio if the alliance would sit with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party, Simhi said: “We’ll sit with everyone. We’re not boycotting anyone, except for the Arab parties in their present form… which care more about the Palestinian population and don’t represent the Arab population in Israel.”

This was “settled” despite Gantz’s past rejection of Ben Gvir as a potential coalition partner, said Simhi.

Most of the current opposition parties reject sitting not only with Ben Gvir, but also with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Simhi specified that his rejection of Arab parties extended to the traditionalist Ra’am, which was part of the 2021-2022 government formed by Blue and White and other parties opposed at the time to Netanyahu.

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Simhi also said the alliance would seek a unity government. If it could clinch a Knesset majority for either Netanyahu’s bloc or the Zionist opposition bloc, then Gantz and Simhi would go with the larger bloc only if it makes a “proper and honorable” proposal for a unity government that the smaller side rejects, Simhi said.

Asked whom he would prefer to see become premier, Simhi declined to answer, saying he had an opinion on the matter but sharing it would be counterproductive to his goal of unity.

Simhi, a staple of Channel 12 evening news panels, is a former Fire and Rescue commissioner and a bereaved father whose son Guy was killed fighting terrorists in the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023.

Several reports last week indicated that Simhi, Gantz and former Netanyahu aide Yoaz Hendel, head of the Reservists movement, were on the verge of announcing a new political party.

Running alone, none of the three would likely pass the electoral threshold, but together they could earn up to seven of the Knesset’s 120 seats, polls have shown.

Simhi, Gantz and Hendel have all criticized the government for seeking to enshrine in law the ultra-Orthodox exemption from military service. But unlike other Zionist Netanyahu critics, they have also expressed willingness to form a government with the premier, positioning the potential three-way merger as a possible kingmaker after the next elections, which are scheduled to take place by October 27.

Sources who spoke with The Times of Israel last week said reports of the three-way merger were premature, with a central sticking point in the negotiations being a disagreement between Hendel, who opposes joining a government with ultra-Orthodox parties, and Simhi, who does not.

Speaking to Army Radio on Sunday, Simhi claimed he and Gantz had reached an agreement to run together and were still choosing a name for the party and putting the “finishing touches” on the logo.

Surveys conducted for the party have showed it attracts votes “from all corners” except for “the side of Yair Golan,” head of the left-leaning Democrats party, “or the side of Ben Gvir,” Simhi said.

Ariela Karmel contributed to this report.