According to a report in the daily Yisrael Hayom newspaper, if the Ichud Leumi/ Tekuma faction splits from the Bayit Yehudi party, it is possible the Am Shalem party headed by Rabbi Chaim Amsellem will partner with Bayit Yehudi as a moderate Sephardi faction. According to Rabbi Amsellem, Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett turned his back on a deal signed with Rabbi Amsellem in the last elections, as was reported by YWN-ISRAEL.

The report released by Yisrael Hayom adds that earlier in the week, Amsellem also probed to see if there is room for negotiations with Moshe Kahlon, who the polls show will earn a minimum of 10 seats. Kahlon told Amsellem that he is uninterested. Rabbi Amsellem uses his Facebook page to report of Bennett’s betrayal, explaining “he had room for the secular Ayelet Shaked but not Amsellem,” blaming this on Bennett’s turning his back on the Sephardi tzibur.

Hence, Amsellem’s party ran independently in the last election and received 48,000 votes, enough for 1.5 seats. The minimum threshold for entering Knesset was two seats, about 70,000 votes. In the upcoming Knesset, the minimum has been increased to four seats as lawmakers are working to push out the smaller parties.

When asked to comment on the report, a Bayit Yehudi officials said that anyone and everyone is welcome to run for a slot as the decision will be made by voters, registered party members casting a ballot to determine the part lineup

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)