Minor Political Parties

Or see the major political parties.

Left

Meretz

Party leader:	Yossi Beilin
Campaign Slogan:	Meretz - the left wing party that puts people in the center
Platform:	Return to 1967 borders with minor territorial exchanges and division of Jerusalem, and a liberal social agenda.
Current seats:	6
Predicted seats:	4-7
Prediction:	Meretz will most likely loose votes to Kadima, and with Beilin perceived as an elitists, will find it hard to attract votes from the lower class.

Arab Parties

Platform:	All 3 parties call for a separation of religion and state, advancing equality and helping Israeli Arabs.
Prediction:	There has been a push for the 3 parties to unite, however failure to do so may see at least one of the 3 parties come in under the 2% voter threshold and not enter the Knesset. If the number of Arab Mk’s drop significantly, it could cause crisis among Israeli Arabs

Centre

Shinui

Party leader:	Ron Leventhal
Platform:	Shinui supports the establishment of a secular state, free from religious coercion, and a full separation of state and religion, it also supports enlisting yeshiva students into the army, and running public transport, business and cultural events on the Sabbath (Saturday)
Current seats:	15
Predicted seats:	0
Prediction:	Possibly facing the biggest loss of van Israeli political party, Shinui has split with 9 going into the new Secular Zionist Party, 3 staying as Shinui and the other 3 split between other parties. Although it is unlikely that Shinui will meet the new voter threshold this time.

Right

Yisrael Beitenu

Party leader:	Avigdor Lieberman
Platform:	Swapping land in the Galilee which is mainly populated by Israeli Arabs for settlement blocs in the territories
Current seats:	3
Predicted seats:	5-7
Prediction:	Lieberman has used Russian in his campaign slogans to try and draw the Russian immigrant vote , their platform for redrawing borders to include settlement blocs in exchange for heavily populated Arab land, could draw some support. Yisrael Beitenu is likely to join into the coalition with Kadima.

Shas

Party leader:	Eli Yishai
Platform:	Helping the poor, supporting Sephardi Ultra-Orthodox causes
Current seats:	11
Predicted seats:	7-12
Prediction:	Chairman Yishai wants to bring in a new dynamic name to refresh the list and draw more voters, but with the strength of Labour on socio-economic issues, and Likud on right-wing issues, Shas will likely lose votes this election.

United Torah Judaism

Party leader:	Ya'acov Litzman
Platform:	Ashkenazi Ultra-orthodox causes
Current seats:	5
Predicted seats:	5-6
Prediction:	Possibility to unite and join in a coalition with Kadima

National Religious Party (NRP)/National Union (NU)

Party leaders:	Benny Elon (NU), Zevulun Orlev (NRP)
Platform:	Given these two parties have just decided to unite, it is unclear what their precise platform will be. The NRP's main agenda is preserving the Land of Israel and the religion as well as religious Zionist education. NU's agenda is holding onto all of Judea and Samaria (the territories)
Slogans:	NRP: "Looking after our home" NU: "Orange Now"
Current seats:	10
Predicted seats:	8-15
Prediction:	Having just united, it will be intriguing to see if the gamble has paid off, party leaders believe that religious Zionists will feel comfortable supporting the new combined party, and it could cause some worries for Likud