Compare two parties

Origins. Likud is the heir of Revisionist Zionism through Begin's Herut, dominant Israeli right-wing party since 1977. The Religious Zionism Party was founded in 2021 as the political vehicle of the Tkuma faction of National Union, anchored by Bezalel Smotrich and aligned with the post-Gush Emunim settler-rabbinical tradition. The party formally absorbed Otzma Yehudit in the 2022 election (running on a joint slate); the two govern as separate factions inside the same coalition.

Where they diverge. On the theological frame: Likud is religious-friendly but politically Jewish-secular in origin; Religious Zionism is explicitly halakhic in its program, drawing from Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's and Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook's frameworks of Land-of-Israel sovereignty as religious obligation. On judicial reform: Smotrich's Religious Zionism Party has been the most aggressive proponent of the 2023 judicial-overhaul package; Likud led the coalition but contains moderate figures (Saar, Gallant) who broke with the plan. On the West Bank: both support sovereignty but Religious Zionism explicitly seeks annexation; Likud's public position remains more ambiguous. On the 2018 Nation-State Law: Likud passed it; Religious Zionism would have gone further.

Where they overlap. They are the same governing coalition. Both reject a Palestinian state. Both supported the post-October 7 war in Gaza and the West Bank expansion that followed. Both have absorbed Otzma Yehudit as a junior partner. Both are anchored in the religious-settler movement's political ascendancy of the past fifteen years.

Why it matters today. The Netanyahu-Smotrich coalition is the most right-wing government in Israeli history, and its programmatic direction during the 2023 judicial reform, the post-October 7 war, and the proposed West Bank annexation discussions has been shaped as much by Smotrich's framework as by Netanyahu's.