Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the Bayit Yehudi party is calling on Otzma Yisrael and Yachad to unite to avoid risking both not meeting the minimum threshold to enter the 20th Knesset. Ariel feels if the votes of Dr. Michael Ben-Ari and Eli Yishai’s parties are wasted the right-wing will lose significant representation in Knesset.
Ariel told a conference of administrators in the Dead Sea that it appears likely that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be selected for the presidential mandate to form the next coalition government. He explained that he hopes Bayit Yehudi will be the nation’s third largest party but the others, Yishai and Ben-Ari, must unites to avoid the risk of wasting the votes.
Ariel stressed he believes there are no other alternatives and the right-wing must form the next coalition to protect the interests of the community at large. He rejected the attacks aimed at Bayit Yehudi, defending the party’s leaders and platform.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
5 Responses
Otzma Yisrael is a nationalist party, and Yishai while sympathetic is basically running a hareidi Sefardi party. When push comes to shove, Otzma Yisrael’s highest priority will be preserving the settlements in the West Bank, and Yishai’s will be serving and protecting his constituents in terms of economic, social and religious issues. That’s a big divide.
If Bayit Yehudi dropped its anti-hareidi campaign, it could have included both of them meaning it would have made Bayit Yehudi a contender to be the largest party. However Bayit Yehudi has made clear that attacking the hareidim is more important than settlements, the economy or the welfare of its constituents.
If he’s so worried about votes being wasted why didn’t he and the rest of Tekuma join Yishai & Chetboun themselves?
1. That’s a rather hypocritical statement coming from MK Ariel who himself, just a short while ago, voted for Tekumah to leave Habayit Hayehudi and join Yishai.
2. Yishai and Chetboun are no less nationalists than Habayit Hayehudi. Their problem with Otzma Leyisrael is that it is a Kahanist party, which is a whole ‘nother ball of wax.
Not that anyone pays attention to akuperma’s rants, but for someone who doesn’t live in Israel to make up all this nonsense is mind boggling.
I’ve been following the election very closely and I’ve yet to see any anti- Chareidi campaigning from Bayit Yehudi. There is however, lots of anti-Dati and anti-Bayit Yehudi campaigning from the Chareidi parties who fear losing lots of votes to Bayit Yehudi.
Does this moron understand that without these so-called settlements, Israel is indefensible, being only 9 miles wide at a certain point. Hashem gave us back our Land and fools like that, who learn nothing from Torah or history are willing to turn away from Hashem and give it to those seeking to destroy us. It’s the Erev Rav and the Meraglim all rolled into one.
This seems to be the test for our generation before Moshiach comes. Will we reject Hashem’s Land or not? We know what happened to the 80% who rejected the Land before Yetzias Mitzraim.
#4 There are many qualified sources that the [jewish] Erev Rav will be dominant over the jewish people as the final test,which you seem to ignore
But you decided to invent a new test unmentioned anywhere