# Inside Amcha Yisrael: The New Right-Wing Party Seeking a Place in Israeli Politics > Founded by former IDF Brigadier General Ofer Winter, Amcha Yisrael entered Israel's 2026 election campaign with a security-focused platform and a candidate list drawn from military service, journalism, local government and civic activism. - Source: Pacific Post - Canonical URL: https://pacificpost.co.uk/article/amcha-yisrael-ofer-winter-israel-politics - Author: Pacific Post Staff - Section: Politics - Published: 2026-10-24T20:10:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T20:10:00.000Z - Tags: Israel, elections, Amcha Yisrael, Ofer Winter --- On August 25, 2026, former Israeli military commander Ofer Winter formally launched Amcha Yisrael, a new political party entering an already competitive right-wing electoral landscape. The party's name, which can be translated loosely as "Your People, Israel," draws on a Hebrew expression associated with identification with ordinary Israelis and a shared national identity. Winter, a retired brigadier general with more than three decades of military experience, presented the party as an alternative for voters who identify with the political right but are dissatisfied with existing political leadership. The launch followed years in which Winter had become a recognizable public figure through his military career, particularly his command of the Givati Brigade during the 2014 Gaza war. His entry into electoral politics came nearly three years after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, which intensified debates in Israel over security policy, military readiness and government accountability. ## A New Political Organization Amcha Yisrael identifies itself as a right-wing national movement. Its central themes include a more proactive national security doctrine, opposition to Palestinian statehood, changes to Israel's judicial system and reforms to military recruitment. The party also emphasizes the interests of citizens who serve in the military and the reserves. These positions place Amcha Yisrael within the broader Israeli right, but its decision to compete independently distinguishes it from established parties. Israel's parliamentary system uses proportional representation with a national electoral threshold of 3.25 percent. Parties that fail to meet that threshold receive no seats in the 120-member Knesset. The system creates a recurring tension between the desire to establish new political movements and the practical consequences of electoral fragmentation. ## A Candidate List Beyond Career Politicians Winter assembled a list featuring people from different professional backgrounds. Yoseph Haddad, an Arab-Israeli Christian and wounded IDF veteran known for his international advocacy on behalf of Israel, holds second place. Journalist and television presenter Netali Shem Tov is third. Other prominent candidates include attorney Eran Ben Ari, former Jerusalem deputy mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum and bereaved mother Lali Deri. The list combines former military personnel, public advocates, civic figures and people whose personal experiences have shaped their public involvement. The presence of Haddad is particularly notable within a party that strongly emphasizes Israel's Jewish national identity, raising broader questions about how the party defines national belonging and political representation. ## The Challenge of Building a New Party Amcha Yisrael's emergence has also prompted criticism from other right-wing politicians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other figures have warned that additional parties competing for similar voters could divide the right-wing electorate. Winter has defended his decision to run independently, arguing that voters should have political alternatives and that his party represents positions insufficiently addressed by existing parties. Those competing arguments reflect a longstanding feature of Israeli coalition politics. A new party may broaden the range of views represented in an election, but its eventual influence depends on electoral results and the ability to work within a parliamentary system. For Amcha Yisrael, the immediate challenge is establishing an organizational identity, presenting detailed policies and explaining how it intends to translate its priorities into legislation. Its formation adds a new participant to Israel's political debate. Whether it develops a lasting institutional role will depend on events beyond its founding campaign. --- Originally published by Pacific Post. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://pacificpost.co.uk/article/amcha-yisrael-ofer-winter-israel-politics.