The Religious Zionist Party has launched a new campaign aimed at English speakers in Israel in an effort to gain new members ahead of the party primaries.
MK Simcha Rothman of the nationalistic right wing party is the presenter of the English speaking campaign, trying to convince Anglos to join the party and vote in the primaries.
Sources in the party explained that they are trying to reach many former supporters of former prime minister Naftali Bennet, who's Yamina party was very strong in Anglo communities in areas such as Gush Etzion and Jerusalem and now RZP is trying to gain support in these circles.
"No one likes Israeli bureaucracy," Rothman said in the video, quoting the World Bank that "Israel ranks in 35th place in ease of doing business." He added that "in Israel, you will spend 11 days to open a new business, another 234 hours [almost 10 days] paying business taxes and 102 days to connect your business to electricity."
Rothman explained in the video that enlisting in the Religious Zionist Party is "super easy, super simple, zero bureaucracy."
He explained how any Israeli may join the party and vote in the upcoming primary elections, the first one the party has ever held. Joining the party allows citizens to vote for a candidate of their choice. Enlisting to the party costs NIS 40 for individuals, NIS 70 for couples and is free of charge for teenagers aged 17 to 18.
The primary elections for the RZP will take place on August 23 and the voting process will be digital with the ability to vote online. "Determine who will represent the party in the next, most easy and significant impact," Rothman said.
MK Simcha Rothman
Rothman was born into a family that had immigrated to Israel from Cleveland in the early 20th century, but isn't an American citizen. The 41-year-old lawyer founded the Movement for Governability and Democracy in 2013.
He was considered, before being elected to Knesset, as a leading opinion maker in Israel’s conservative ecosystem. As such, he campaigned to allow the government to override the Supreme Court and supported immunity from prosecution for serving prime ministers.
In June, Rothman promoted an amendment to an existing bill that would exempt American citizens in Israel from paying national insurance (bituah leumi) if they’ve already paid Social Security in the United States. The bill, titled “Exemption from double payments of social security funds,” could have substantially assisted US citizens living in Israel.