There is much applause heard among supporters of Ministers Naftali Bennet and Ayelet Shaked after they announced their new ‘The New Right‘ party.

However, back at Bayit Yehudi headquarters, there is anger, for in actuality, the party leaders took advantage of the law and pulled out at the correct time to begin the new party while distancing themselves from Bayit Yehudi’s staggering NIS 22 million debt. Some of the remaining leaders, including MK Betzalel Smotrich, feel the two should be held responsible for part of the debt, but the law is on their side, and the debt remains with Bayit Yehudi in its entirety.

According to the law, if a party faction withdraws from a party within three days of passing the law to dissolve the Knesset, it is exempt from the party’s obligations, so if the request for distribution was submitted by Bennet last week, he would have been obligated to take part of the past obligations of the Bayit Yehudi but he and Shaked timed it perfectly, relieving their concerns surrounding the debt and just before the outgoing Knesset dissolves, which would have been too late.

The debts of Bayit Yehudi at the end of 2017 stood at NIS 22 million, after a year earlier amounting to NIS 28 million. Bennet was elected head of the party at the end of 2012, when the party’s debts were estimated at NIS 40 million.

So, who will assume the leadership of Bayit Yehudi? MK Betzalel Smotrich appears to be in the lead, with the support of about 60% of party voters. According to the poll released by the dati leumi Srugim website, trailing him are Eli Ben-Dahan with 15%, Sar Shalom Jerbi with 10%, Moti Yogev with 9% and Uri Ariel with 6%.

An Angry Moti Yogev Calls On PM Netanyahu To Fire Both Bennet & Shaked

Moti Yogev is one of the remaining MKs in Bayit Yehudi, and like some of the others, he is angry over party leaders Ministers Naftali Bennet and Ayelet Shaked announcing their new party, while leaving Bayit Yehudi with NIS 22 million in debts. Yogev adds that making things worse, they took NIS 5.5 million to launch their new party and left the coffers of Bayit Yehudi empty.

Yogev is calling on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to dismiss both Bennet and Shaked from the cabinet, as they have been serving as ministers from Bayit Yehudi, which they are no longer a part of.

However, colleague Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan does not agree. Ben-Dahan, number three in the party after Bennet and Shaked, feels calling for their dismissal from the cabinet is “irresponsible, and it is not representative of the party”. He insists “We are not going to engage in acts of revenge” and citing the party remains responsible to the state, and therefore, the two should remain in their positions until the election.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)