Updated
Naftali Goldman
Shema · נף

Naftali Goldman

נפתלי בורוך גולדמן

Businessman, party chairman

party polls under the threshold
Below the line
years in public service
6
issues off the party line
0 of 8

Goldman writes on the party's site that he would be a better prime minister than any politician. Shema filed a single name, so the claim depends on the list clearing the threshold on its own.

Who they are

Naftali Goldman is a businessman who founded Shema and has headed its list at three elections. He was born in Manchester, read law in England and lives in Ramla. He spent about fifteen years in high tech and says he set up and ran companies around the world in that time. He writes that he made mistakes and looked for shortcuts, that there were years when he was up and years when he was down, and that he has kept a God-fearing life for the past decade.

He married Racheli, and their daughter Batya was born the following year with severe illness. The couple have cared for her at home since, and Goldman says the long time at home is what turned him to politics. He dates the party's welfare plank to about eight months minding his wife's jewellery stall at Jerusalem's central bus station, where he watched people in their seventies, eighties and nineties going through the bins for bottles.

He registered Shema at the turn of 2020 and published its platform that September, 24 pages on morality, welfare and unity laws. He writes and signs the party's policy pages himself.

Positions and record

We could not find published positions for Naftali Goldman. Newcomers to a party list often have no policy record until the campaign starts. This section will fill in as they speak publicly.

Where they stand

Holds the party line on every issue.

Judea & Samariaparty lineNo Palestinian state. Palestinians are to recognise the Jewish right to the land, and Gaza stays under Israeli control.
Two states / withdrawalSovereignty / annexation
Gaza & Securityparty lineZero tolerance for terror, with heavy sanctions for a breach. The platform was written in 2020 and says nothing about how the current war ends.
Deal & disengagementFull military control
Haredi Enlistmentparty lineEvery Jewish man is drafted. Those who choose Torah serve in a spiritual combat unit on closed bases under yeshiva heads, and no religious group is exempt.
Universal draftPreserve exemptions
Judiciaryparty lineStrip the Supreme Court of the power to void Knesset decisions. A law it strikes down returns to the government for a vote that binds.
Court can strike lawsKnesset can override
Economyparty lineKeeps the existing budget and economic model. New spending comes from selling or leasing army-held land and from Leviathan gas revenue, not from tax changes.
Social spendingFree market
Educationparty lineFree degrees for anyone who completes military or full national service, then state help to open a business trading abroad. Israeli heritage is added to the curriculum.
State runs the schoolsParents and communities
Religion & Stateparty lineMorality is set by God alone. Adultery becomes punishable, internet pornography is censored for children, and state backing for same-sex marriage and adoption ends.
Civil / pluralistReligious authority
Nation & Citizenshipparty lineRuns on Jewish unity, religious with secular and Ashkenazim with Sephardim, and a minister to connect 14 million Jews worldwide. Nothing on Arab citizens.
Equal citizenshipJewish national state