ISRAEL ELECTION NEWS: Thursday, January 3rd

(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Latest TNS poll involving 543 respondents representative of a cross-section of the Israeli voting public 18 and older.

Likud 28
Chosen Yisrael 14 (Benny Gantz)
Yesh Atid 13
Arab List 12
New Right 9 (Naftali Bennet)
Labor 7
Yahadut Hatorah 7
Kulanu 7
Shas 6
Gesher 6 (Orli Abekasis-Levi)
Meretz 6
Yisrael Beitenu 5
Bayit Yehudi 0
The Movement 0 (Tzipi Livni)

**Yisrael Hayom reports former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi told persons close to him that if he enters politics, he prefers Likud.

**Yisrael Hayom poll which included 501 respondents representative of a cross-section of voters. Margin of error +/-4.3%. (A party with fewer than 4 seats does not enter Knesset)

Likud 28
Chosen Yisrael 13
Yesh Atid 13
Arab List 9
New Right 8
Labor 7
Kulanu 6
Meretz 6
Yahadut Hatorah 6
Gesher 5
Bayit Yehudi 4
The Movement 4
Yisrael Beitenu 4
Shas 3
Otzma Yisrael 2
Zehut 2 (Moshe Feiglin)

**Amid euphoric reports of the three chareidi parties uniting; Shas, Degel Hatorah and Agudas Yisrael, Yair Orbito on Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) this morning released excerpts from a discussion with HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen Shlita, head of the Shas Moetzas Gedolei Torah, stating “We don’t need anyone. Shas does not need to connect with any party”. The report states that Chacham Cohen was asked about teaming with the Ashkenazi chareidi parties months ago and he rejected the notion outright. According to a Ladaat News report, there was no response from Rav Cohen’s house when asked to comment on the report.

**Avi Gabbai, the Labor party leader who ousted Tzipi Livni and her The Movement party, is now under fire from within amid bleak single-digit predictions of Labor running alone in the election. Labor and The Movement, which were previous Machane Tzioni, currently have 24 seats in Knesset. Veteran Labor MK Eitan Cabel is among a growing number of party members demanding Gabbai step down as party leader after he unilaterally cut ties with Livni without discussing it with anyone in advance.

“New Right” Party Enjoys Slim Lead Over Bayit Yehudi Among Dati Leumi Voters

A Magar Mochot poll released Thursday morning, January 3, 2019 in the BaSheva newspaper, addresses the influence the right-wing split has on the dati leumi voting public.

Whom will you vote for in the elections for Knesset?
22.6% Likud
16.2% New Right
14.4% Bayit Yehudi
4.4% Otzma Yisrael
4.2% Shas
3.2% Yachad (Eli Yishai)
2.8% Yahadut Hatorah

The respondents were asked to rate their response from one (lowest) to ten (highest) regarding how certain they are in their response. Likud voters averaged a 8.08 score while those voting for Bayit Yehudi rated 7.3 and the New Right, a mere 3.92.

Who should head the dati leumi list (Bayit Yehudi/Ichud Leumi) in your opinion?
The respondents were not given names to select from, but it was an open question.
54% Betzalel Smotrich
14% Uri Ariel
9% Eli Ben-Dayan
7% Naftali Bennet
5% Rav Chaim Druckman
5% Moti Yogev
2% Boaz Haetzni
2% Miriam Peretz
2% Sivan Rahav-Meir

The poll was supervised by Prof. Yitzchak Katz and it included 502 respondents identified with the dati leumi community in Israel.