Noam נעם | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman | Avi Maoz |
| Spiritual leader | Zvi Thau |
| Founded | 15 July 2019; 6 years ago (15 July 2019) |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right[3] |
| Religion | Orthodox Judaism (Chardal)[4] |
| National affiliation | Religious Zionist Party (2021–2022; 2022) |
| Colours | Blue Light Blue |
| Slogan | A Normal Nation in Our Own Land |
| Knesset | 1 / 120 |
| Election symbol | |
| כ | |
| Website | |
| noam | |
Noam (Hebrew:נעם,lit. 'Pleasantness'; officially known asLazuz)[2][5] is afar-right fundamentalist and theocraticOrthodox Jewish,Religious Zionist political party inIsrael, officially established in July 2019 by an extremeconservative faction in the Religious Zionist community inspired byRabbiZvi Thau and hisHar Hamoryeshiva. The party's main goal is to advance policies againstLGBT rights, and against what its backers call "the destruction of the family".[2]Avi Maoz, the party's leader, was elected to theKnesset in2021, and is the party's sole representative.[6][7]
Noam was founded in July 2019.[8] Its basis is in rabbiZvi Thau and hisHar Hamoryeshiva. Thau and his followers believed thatThe Jewish Home, then led byRafi Peretz, andTkuma, led byBezalel Smotrich, hadn't sufficiently advancedJewish values, particularly in the realm ofopposition to LGBT rights, protection of theShabbat as a day of rest, and the protection of the Orthodoxconversion process. Following Thau's disappointment with theUnion of the Right-Wing Parties, he and his followers decided to form the Noam party. While Thau is the party's spiritual leader, rabbi Dror Aryeh became the party's political leader.[9] Another student of Thau involved in the creation of the party was rabbiShlomo Aviner. He said that: "The party will fight against thedestruction of the family, against the destruction of conversion, against the destruction ofShabbat, against the destruction of theWestern Wall, and against the use of deviant content in theIDF andthe Education Ministry."[2]
The Noam party was reported to be in talks with theOtzma Yehudit party, which had recently split from theUnited Right, for a possible joint run. Thau endorsed the joint ticket, marking the first time he had explicitly endorsed a political party.[10] On 28 July, Noam and Otzma Yehudit agreed to run on a joint list for theSeptember 2019 Israeli legislative election.[3] The agreement between Noam and Otzma Yehudit was dissolved on 1 August 2019 because Noam disagreed with Otzma having secular Jewish candidates.[11] Noam filed to run alone,[12] before withdrawing from the race on 15 September.[13]
The party formed a joint list withOtzma Yehudit, after allowing women and secular candidates on the list, prior to the2021 Israeli legislative election.[14] Both parties then ran on a joint list with theReligious Zionist Party,[15] with the party's leader,Avi Maoz, receiving the sixth spot.[16] Maoz was subsequently elected to the Knesset as the list won six seats.[17]
The three parties agreed[18] to run jointly in the2022 Israeli legislative election on 14 September 2022, with Maoz receiving the 11th spot.[19] On 20 November 2022, both Noam and Otzma Yehudit split from the RZP, ending their technical bloc.[20][21] On 27 November 2022, Noam reached a coalition agreement withLikud.[22] On 3 January 2023,[23] Maoz became a DeputyMinister in the Prime Minister's Office, responsible for external programs in theMinistry of Education.[24] Maoz left the government in March 2025.[25]
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| Far-right politics in Israel |
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Noam argues thatpublic sector entities, including theMinistry of Education and theIDF, have been infiltrated by what their 2019 platform refers to as "radical liberal agendas", "LGBT andReform organizations", and "foreign entities ... promoting a liberal andfeminist worldview".[26] The party advocates for what it terms "traditional family values", opposesabortion rights, same-sex marriage, andLGBT rights, and additionally supports stricter restrictions during theSabbath and granting more authority to theChief Rabbinate of Israel,[26] with Maoz stating in 2022 that Noam will "... introduce afourth branch of government, the Chief Rabbinate".[27]
The party released a video under the comment: "An entire country is going through conversion therapy. The time has come to stop it." In the video, a mother, father, and son go to vote on election day in September 2019, and the family is bombarded with LGBT and Reform imagery. Once they reach the voting booth, the mother writes on her voting slip, "Let my son marry a woman", while the father writes, "Let my grandson be Jewish".[28] The video was removed by YouTube for violating its terms of use.[2]
In 2022,Ynet reported that Noam was keeping a list of women advising theGender Affairs Advisor to the Chief of Staff, as well as LGBT educators and members of the press.[29][30] The lists drew criticism from public figures and politicians, including then-Prime MinisterYair Lapid.[31]
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Avi Maoz | withReligious Zionist | 1 / 120 | – | Opposition | |
| 2022 | 1 / 120 |  | Coalition | |||
| Knesset | Members | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| 24th | Avi Maoz | 1 |
| 25th | Avi Maoz | 1 |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
