In the September elections, many in Israel's religious Zionist sector voted for the Likud headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though they had an alternative in the national-religious Yamina list, which brought together the HaBayit HaYehudi, the New Right and National Union parties. The religious Zionist sector viewed Netanyahu, who dominanted the Israel right in the last decade, as irreplaceable and favored his party until the most recent elections. But the Sept. 17 election did not give the right a majority and there are indictments hanging over Netanyahu’s head, forcing even the most faithful supporters to consider a change of direction.
On Oct. 4 Dudu Sa’ada, one of the sector's opinion leaders, called on Netanyahu to appoint a replacement. Sa’ada is the chairman of B’Sheva, which organizes various events such as the Jerusalem Convention, prints the weekly Religious Zionist B’Sheva newspaper and runs Channel 7.