Netanyahu Presses Rabbi to Sideline Rival Before Oct. 27 Vote
(MENAFN) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enlisted a leading rabbi in a bid to push Amcha Yisrael party leader Ofer Winter out of the Oct. 27 parliamentary race, fearing his candidacy could fracture the right-wing vote, an Israeli daily reported Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, Netanyahu traveled to the Bnei David pre-military academy in the Eli settlement in the occupied West Bank, where he sat down with Rabbi Eli Sadan. Finance Minister and Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich joined him.
The aim, the daily said, was to leverage Sadan’s close ties to Winter and convince him to step aside.
Sources at the academy told the newspaper that Netanyahu and Smotrich showed Sadan the latest opinion polls, contending that a crowded field of small parties could cost the right-wing bloc seats. They also argued that the opposition had “organized its ranks better” after Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz quit the race Monday.
In a video released by the newspaper, Winter responded by accusing Netanyahu and Smotrich of attempting to pressure him.
“The people of Israel want a different kind of politics,” he said.
Winter said he is running to offer an alternative to the current right-wing leadership, one built on accepting responsibility, admitting mistakes and uniting Israelis. His party, he insisted, would “continue competing until the end.”
Electoral pressure
The squeeze on Winter’s camp is already producing defections. Last week, Davidi Ben Zion, the party’s eighth-ranked candidate, pulled out after pressure from figures close to Smotrich and from rabbis in the West Bank, the newspaper reported.
The pressure was driven by fears that the party would miss the electoral threshold, leaving every vote cast for it without parliamentary representation. Ben Zion said he withdrew to avoid wasting his supporters’ votes.
On Oct. 12, Winter warned that Netanyahu would be responsible for the right-wing bloc’s collapse if his party failed to clear the threshold.
Demands inside the governing coalition for Winter to quit have grown louder as polls show his party below the 3.25% of valid votes required to enter parliament. The calls picked up speed after Gantz’s exit, which right-wing figures saw as a boost to the opposition.
The vote comes amid deep political divisions. Netanyahu admitted Sunday that he was unsure of victory and was “very worried.”
A poll released Sunday by a public broadcaster showed Netanyahu’s bloc dropping two seats to 51, behind the 52 projected for the bloc led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot. Eisenkot also topped Netanyahu on preferred prime minister, 43% to 35%, the same poll found.
Polls indicate neither bloc is close to the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.
According to the newspaper, Netanyahu traveled to the Bnei David pre-military academy in the Eli settlement in the occupied West Bank, where he sat down with Rabbi Eli Sadan. Finance Minister and Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich joined him.
The aim, the daily said, was to leverage Sadan’s close ties to Winter and convince him to step aside.
Sources at the academy told the newspaper that Netanyahu and Smotrich showed Sadan the latest opinion polls, contending that a crowded field of small parties could cost the right-wing bloc seats. They also argued that the opposition had “organized its ranks better” after Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz quit the race Monday.
In a video released by the newspaper, Winter responded by accusing Netanyahu and Smotrich of attempting to pressure him.
“The people of Israel want a different kind of politics,” he said.
Winter said he is running to offer an alternative to the current right-wing leadership, one built on accepting responsibility, admitting mistakes and uniting Israelis. His party, he insisted, would “continue competing until the end.”
Electoral pressure
The squeeze on Winter’s camp is already producing defections. Last week, Davidi Ben Zion, the party’s eighth-ranked candidate, pulled out after pressure from figures close to Smotrich and from rabbis in the West Bank, the newspaper reported.
The pressure was driven by fears that the party would miss the electoral threshold, leaving every vote cast for it without parliamentary representation. Ben Zion said he withdrew to avoid wasting his supporters’ votes.
On Oct. 12, Winter warned that Netanyahu would be responsible for the right-wing bloc’s collapse if his party failed to clear the threshold.
Demands inside the governing coalition for Winter to quit have grown louder as polls show his party below the 3.25% of valid votes required to enter parliament. The calls picked up speed after Gantz’s exit, which right-wing figures saw as a boost to the opposition.
The vote comes amid deep political divisions. Netanyahu admitted Sunday that he was unsure of victory and was “very worried.”
A poll released Sunday by a public broadcaster showed Netanyahu’s bloc dropping two seats to 51, behind the 52 projected for the bloc led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot. Eisenkot also topped Netanyahu on preferred prime minister, 43% to 35%, the same poll found.
Polls indicate neither bloc is close to the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.
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