While there is a dream of chareidi achdus in the municipal elections around Israel, this is not the case in at least one city, Ashdod. Efforts towards achdus between Shas and the Kol HaLev party in the city have failed. With five months to the elections, the chareidim do not seem to be united.

The Kol HaLev party is headed by Dudi Ben-Chamu, and Shas officials report they have done everything possible to reach agreement, albeit their efforts have been unsuccessful. The party however, Kol HaLev, is not stable enough to pass the minimum threshold on its own, despite the fact it has two seats on the city council today. As a result, efforts continue to find a suitable partner, including Sephardim in the city who don’t identify with Shas and others. Shas officials following the breakdown in talks fear this will lead in dividing the vote and a loss for all.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)