Journalist Uri Orbach to run with Habayit Hayehudi for the Knesset

Habayit Hayehudi's 38-member public council approves the top of its Knesset candidate list.

By SHELLY PAZ
orbach 88 (photo credit: )
orbach 88
(photo credit: )
Uri Orbach, the well-known national religious journalist, accepted the fifth spot on the Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) Knesset candidate list. Orbach, who co-hosts Army Radio's The Last Word talk show and writes for Yediot Aharonot, joins several journalists who have decided to run for the next Knesset - including Haaretz's Daniel Ben-Simon with Labor, Israel Radio's Gideon Reicher with the Gil Pensioners Party, and Channel 10's Nitzan Horowitz, who is considering a run with Hatnua Hahadasha/Meretz. "I have decided that after 25 years, during which I have been writing opinion pieces and reviews, it's time to do something concrete from a different angle and a different perspective, and it sounds very interesting and intriguing," Orbach said. Habayit Hayehudi's 38-member public council approved the top of its Knesset candidate list on Wednesday: chairman Prof. Daniel Hershkovitz (1); MK Zevulun Orlev (2), MK Uri Ariel (3); the fourth slot is reserved for a woman or a representative from the periphery; and Orbach (5). Orbach said he would work to promote discussion between the religious and secular sectors, and on issues that affected minorities of all types in society. "Of course joining a clearly right-wing party will include dealing with diplomatic and territorial issues, and I also think there is a lot to do to promote values of free press and freedom of expression in the religious sector," he said. "There are many things that interest me, and I am also a creative person, but I am not going to be the president and deal with every issue." Orbach also said that more people from different backgrounds should enter politics, including from journalism. "I have decided to close this chapter of my life for the time being and to focus on parliamentary work," he said. When asked why he had not joined an older, more stable party, he said that joining an established party could also be difficult. "And I'm also excited about being one of the founders of a new party, where each of us is required to bring something different and unique of his own," he said. He said he would miss the daily routine of a journalist. "But it doesn't matter, because the opportunity has come for something new," he said.