The committee appointed to run the new right-wing Bayit Yehuda Party on Monday appointed the party’s first leader, Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, after committee chair IDF Major-General (reserves) Yaakov Amidror adamantly refused to stand at the head of the party, in no small party due to his lack of experience in the political arena.

Veteran MKs Tzvi Hendel, Rabbi Binyamin Elon and Zevulun Orlev tried in earnest to persuade Amidror to accept the post, but he remained firm, declining the offer.

During the evening hours, candidate Rabbi Eliyahu Ben-Dahan dropped out of the race, leaving Hershkowitz and Avi Schwartzman.

Rabbi Hershkowitz is the rabbi of the Achuza neighborhood in Haifa and a professor of mathematics in Haifa’s prestigious Technion University. He is also the president of the international organization of linear algebra and in the past, served as a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

In other election news, the Hatikvah Party, launched by Dr. Aryeh Eldad, on Wednesday will hold its first assembly during which time registered members will elect the party leader and the lineup for the upcoming 18th Knesset election.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)