On Thursday afternoon 2 Cheshvan 5773, Yahadut HaTorah representatives met in a first step towards planning out election strategy. They are aware that before the umbrella party made up of Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisrael can move ahead, they must first analyze the current status and ascertain if they will run under a joined slate as in the past. The union has earned the Ashkenazi chareidim at least one additional Knesset seat.
Those present were in agreement, that it is in everyone’s interest to continue running under a joint ticket. They agreed an effort must be exerted to get complacent Ashkenazi chareidim to come out and vote for Yahadut HaTorah. They agreed the current list should remain as is, feeling this would send a message of achdus to the tzibur.
It was also decided that the seventh slot on the ticket, which is the third Degel position, would be filled in accordance to instruction from HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita.
Despite the good wishes to promote achdus, the Yerushalmi faction of Degel HaTorah is moving ahead to register its Netzach HaTorah Party, signaling it is entirely possible they will break from Degel (Viewed as the Yated Ne’eman faction) and run independently (representing the HaPeles faction).
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
Why don’t they explore the possibility of running on a real achdus ticket together with the new and improved Shas (now including Deri)?
Running separately they could end up with ZERO seats since under the current rules, they could both fall below the 2% threshold – thus if both parties get 1.9% – they get four seats running together, and none running apart.
or how about running with all the religious parties? They’ve done this before and came in as the 3rd largest party in the Knesset.
Both the Chasidim and the Litvish have sufficient votes to pass the threshold needed for representation. If Degel HaTorah maintains it’s anti-Habad stance, Agudas Yisrael should not run on a joint ticket with them.
Not only does the word “Achdus” stretch the point without Shas, it also would requie including Ha’Ichud haLe’umi, or at least the Mafda faction thereof. Loyalty ought to be about who is shomer Torah umitzvos, not who is an Ashkenazi Charedi. And thus “our camp” is incomplete until we make peace with those who followed R’ Reines, the Netziv or R’ AY Kook. (Something went truly awry between 1914, when the Agudah planned its first convention, including R’ Kook, and after the war when he was excluded. (R AY Kook got as far as Switzerland, where he was stuck for the duration of WWI.) A rift we have yet to heal.
That said, the reuniting of the old Agudah back into a single party would be a nice step toward that goal. Change needs to be step-by-step.
Bottom line a KNESSET SEAT is a winning landfill.Great salary, fringe benefits and more, the pension will support the person for years to come.
It is time for a primary vote to determine who the voters want to represent them adequately, that is the reason there is so much COMPLACENCY among Charedei voters. How could it be that with the tremendous increase of CHaredim through birth, aliyah and tshuva that still the party can ONLY garnish 4-5 seats? Something smells foul!!! Either the people are voting Likud, Marzel, Shas, or Ichd Habayis since they are dissatisfied with UTJ or they just sit out the election.
How about a real-live poll in Charedi neighborhoods and find out who is voting, for who and why? Also with an increase of working Charedim and right wing attitudes, UTJ is not representive of its needs.