Brodny joins Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu, influencing anti-Netanyahu right-wing race

The mayor of Givat Shmuel and former CEO of the religious-Zionist Bayit Yehudi Party, Yossi Brodny, joined MK Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu on Tuesday, the party announced.

The move has political significance in the behind-the-scenes political jostling as to who will lead the anti-Netanyahu right-wing camp in the next election.

Brodny, 53, has served since 2008 as mayor of Givat Shmuel, a city known for its large religious-Zionist population. In the 2022 election, Brodny was second on the joint Yamina-Bayit Yehudi ticket led by Ayelet Shaked, which did not pass the electoral threshold. Ahead of the April 2019 election, Brodny was a leading candidate to lead Bayit Yehudi’s Knesset list, but the party eventually chose Rafi Peretz.

Between 2003-2008, Brodny led the young faction within the National Religious Party (Mafdal), the predecessor of Bayit Yehudi. However, after becoming Givat Shmuel mayor he joined the Likud and remained a member for over a decade.

Boost support and challenge Bennett

Liberman’s hawkish security views have led to a steady rise in polls since the war began in October. Brodny’s choice to join Liberman indicates the latter’s attempt to shake off his anti-religious reputation to expand his voter base and take voters away from Liberman’s main competitor as the next leader of the anti-Netanyahu right-wing camp – former prime minister Naftali Bennett.

While Brodny is well-known in political circles, however, he does not have much national name recognition. Liberman’s choice of Brodny, and not a higher-profile religious-Zionist representative, could indicate his difficulty in convincing religious-Zionist voters to support him.

Bennett, according to a source close to the matter, had already decided to run in the next election. Shaked has not yet made a decision.