However, Shaked has won support from influential figures such as Avichai Rontski, a former army chief rabbi. He has approved partnerships with nationalist secular politicians, calling them "religious in the broad sense of the word".
Analysts noted that Shaked has won a dominant role in the political leadership of the national-religious public, over the rabbis' objections, for two reasons.
First, she proved to be a very effective justice minister for the settlers in Netanyahu's last government. She intimidated the courts and promoted a large number of conservative religious judges, including to the supreme court.
Equally importantly, noted Gurvitz, she changed the justice ministry's position on settlement "outposts", built in violation of a settlement freeze agreed by Israel in the Oslo accords of the mid-1990s.
Traditionally, justice ministry officials accepted at least in public that these 100 or so outposts were illegal and that they should be dismantled when the army or the government viewed the time as right.
But officials under Shaked changed tack, arguing to the courts that the outposts were in essence legal, but had been created with administrative irregularities that needed correcting. The Regularisation Law formalised this approach, clearing the way to future annexation of much of the West Bank.
Nationalism as 'a bridge'Second, Klein pointed out, Shaked was seen as a bridge between the religious and secular nationalist right that could maximise its electoral vote.
The complexity on the right, he said, was caused by the fact that "Jewish" identity had both religious and ethnic components.
"For some people their Jewish nationalism is based on theology and religious observance. For others, like Shaked and Netanyahu, their nationalism derives from an idea of Jewish peoplehood, without a religious element. You can find both types supporting Likud and the national-religious bloc.
"The 'peoplehood nationalists' are not interested in universal values. They think the Jewish people are special, and that they have extra rights as Jews. Any religious sentiments they harbour are subservient to this idea of peoplehood," he said.
Polls have shown Shaked to be remarkably popular among religious nationalists, coming out way ahead of her rivals.
For all three parties to pass the electoral threshold and avoid wasting votes, Klein observed, they needed to unite.
In fact, to maximise votes for the religious right and avoid needing Lieberman's seats, Netanyahu pushed hard to get the openly anti-Arab party Jewish Power into the United Right coalition without success.
Klein noted that Netanyahu preferred working with the religious over the secular right. In the run-up to the election, all the religious parties have been keen to pledge allegiance to a Netanyahu government.
"They are very easy partners for Netanyahu," he said. "Give them a few ministries and some budgets for their community and they will get behind whatever he wants to do."
'Difficult dance' for votesShaked and Netanyahu are politically similar. Shaked worked as Netanyahu's bureau chief back in 2006, and a short time later brought in Naftali Bennett, her current partner in New Right. Both left four years later after a personal falling out with Netanyahu.
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