Former National Security Council head and longtime Likud politician Tzachi Hanegbi said he would vote for Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman in the October 27 election, writing in a column published in Yediot Aharonot on Tuesday.
Hanegbi explained that his decision stemmed from growing disagreements with elements of the Israeli Right, particularly over exemptions from military service for the ultra-Orthodox, attitudes toward the judiciary, and the conduct of political leaders.
"In the upcoming election, I will vote for Avigdor Liberman," Hanegbi wrote, describing the decision as a historic personal departure from his political past.
Hanegbi, who was replaced as head of the National Security Council in October 2025 following disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the upcoming election would be the 18th in which he participated.
He noted that this would be the first election in which he would not vote for a party featuring either his late mother, former MK Geula Cohen, or himself among its candidates.
"While in all the previous elections I had no dilemma whatsoever, in the current election the challenge is new," he wrote. "This time I really have to choose, and not just vote."
Hanegbi criticizes direction of the Israel's Right while remaining committed to ideology
Hanegbi stressed that he remained firmly committed to right-wing ideology, tracing his political identity to his youth in the Betar movement and later involvement with the Herut movement and nationalist student organizations.
However, he argued that parts of the contemporary Israeli Right no longer represented his values.
"I am not a messianic right-winger. And I am not a racist right-winger. And I am not a right-winger who despises his ideological opponents," Hanegbi wrote.
He also rejected what he described as complacency toward nationalist crime and efforts to undermine law enforcement institutions under the banner of strengthening governance.
His strongest criticism concerned exemptions from military and national service, which he argued had become indefensible following the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and three years of military operations.
Hanegbi acknowledged that successive Israeli governments, including those in which he served, had failed to adequately address the issue.
Nevertheless, he argued that continued widespread draft avoidance threatened Israel's existence, particularly given the sacrifices made by regular IDF soldiers and reservists.
He criticized right-wing parties that tolerated coalition partners encouraging young men to disregard military draft notices and declaring that they would rather die than enlist.
Hanegbi praised Liberman's warnings about Hamas, support of West Bank settlement
Hanegbi also pointed to his long personal and professional relationship with Liberman, dating back nearly five decades to their time as students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The two subsequently worked together in the Knesset and government, including during Hanegbi's tenure as deputy foreign minister under Liberman.
Hanegbi said he had been particularly impressed by Liberman's approach to the threat posed by Hamas during his tenure as defense minister.
He recalled serving in the security cabinet when Liberman repeatedly warned that Israel was failing to give sufficient priority to confronting the terrorist organization in Gaza.
"Unfortunately, all of us, all the cabinet members and all the heads of the security services, did not give his warnings the weight they deserved," Hanegbi wrote.
Liberman resigned as defense minister in November 2018, criticizing the government's approach to Hamas and its decision to accept a ceasefire following an escalation in Gaza.
Hanegbi recalled Liberman warning that the government's policy favored buying short-term quiet at the expense of long-term national security.
He argued that the October 7 massacre demonstrated the gravity of the threat Liberman had identified years earlier.
Hanegbi also praised Liberman's opposition to religious coercion, his support for settlement in the West Bank, and his defense of judicial independence despite years of personal legal scrutiny.
In Hanegbi's assessment, these positions demonstrated that Liberman could remain committed to nationalist principles while respecting political opponents and preserving democratic institutions.