Armed with the results of the latest Channel 13 News election poll, the head of the Chosen Yisrael party, Benny Gantz, is aware that he poses a real threat to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and if he plays his cards correctly, he might even become the nation’s next prime minister.

Gantz has already teamed with Moshe Ya’alon, the former Likud defense minister who was pushed aside by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and he is now thinking about joining forces with Mrs Adina Bar Shalom, a daughter of Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef ZT”L, who formed the Achi Yisraeli party.

According to a report on Thursday in Yediot Achronot by Yuval Karnei, Gantz realizes that Bar Shalom would increase his popularity among women and sephardim alike, making an agreement with her a possible win/win for all parties involved.

Bar Shalom blames the chareidi parties of becoming too extreme with the passage of the Supermarket Law which permits the Interior Ministry to override the decision of any city or local municipality and shut down supermarkets and grocery stores on Shabbos. She feels that there is a need for a moderate religious voice, such as her party, and appears to be willing to entertain a union with Gantz and his party.

The latest Chanel 13 News poll asked respondents who they would vote for as prime minister, either PM Netanyahu or Gantz, and they both received 42% of the vote, with 16% undecided, showing clearly that Gantz is the first person with a real chance of unseating Mr. Netanyahu. His party earned 24 seats in the poll, as opposed to Likud’s 30.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)