Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has caused a firestorm by aligning himself with what most consider an extreme racist anti-Arab party.

Netanyahu has made a deal with a group called Jewish Power and another ultranationalist organization, Jewish Home. While Netanyahu may have made the deal to ensure his political win, this has enraged Jewish leaders in Israel and the United States.

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“Polls suggest that without the alliance one or both of the far right parties might fail to reach the 3.25 percent threshold needed to win any seats in the 120-member parliament. With the merger they could win as many as five,” Reuters reported.

But observers say the deal goes beyond politics. “For Mr. Netanyahu, his push to harvest every last right-wing vote is not merely about winning re-election. With the attorney general expected any day now to announce that he will seek Mr. Netanyahu’s indictment in a sprawling bribery scandal, the prime minister hopes to line up enough lawmakers to keep him in power even if he is put on trial,” the New York Times reported.

Still, many Jewish leaders are not happy about it.

“Netanyahu’s alliance with the Kahanists has stirred reaction far beyond Israel’s opposition; American Jews and supporters of Israel who have often been in the Prime Minister’s corner are also distancing themselves,” the New Yorker reported.

In a statement, the American Jewish Committee said that the alliance breaks with a tradition of “extremist parties, reflecting the extreme left or the extreme right,” being “firmly rejected by mainstream parties.”