The heads of Yahadut Hatorah on Thursday explained that after Benny Gantz signed an agreement to run with Yair Lapid, he disqualified himself from receiving any backing or cooperation from the chareidi party.

The two on Thursday morning announced they reached agreement by which the Yesh Atid party will run on a combined slate with the Israel Resilience party, calling the new joint entity the Blue & White party. They agreed they will rotate the position of prime minister if they succeed in the election, with Gantz serving first, followed by Lapid.

The leaders of Yahadut Hatorah explained that their realized the potential danger facing them, and today, it is realized that both Degel Hatorah and Agudas Yisrael exhibited responsibility to their respective tzibur, uniting and running in the election together so they represent a significant entity against any threat to the chareidi tzibur.

Both Litzman & Gafne Disqualify Gantz After He Teamed with Lapid
Both Yaakov Litzman of Agudas Yisrael and Moshe Gafne of Degel Hatorah announced that they have disqualified working with Gantz following his decision to team with Yair Lapid, the political nemesis of the chareidim. In their joint statement, the two explained that Yahadut Hatorah will not be able to sit in a coalition government with Benny Gantz since he decided to partner with Yair Lapid, in line with instruction from Gedolei Yisrael Shlita, the members of the Moetzas Gedolei Torah. They vowed, “to do everything in their power to see another coalition government headed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu towards being responsible for the shleimus of the people, the future of chareidi Jewry, the character of the state and the values of religious and the tradition of Yisrael.”

For Litzman, Gantz is No Longer a Viable Option
Deputy Minister Yaakov Litzman said: “This is a union for the separation of the people and incitement against the tradition of Israel, with the sole aim of toppling Netanyahu and harming his existing partners on the right and the chareidim.”

According to Litzman, “a connection between Yair Lapid, who failed as finance minister, is a terrible blow to the chareidi tzibur, and Benny Gantz, who comes without practical political experience, constitutes a clear danger to the Jewish character of the state, and a serious warning against returning to the rea of ‘gezeiros Lapid” which endangered chareidi Jewry.”

Gafne Leaves an Open Door Towards Working with Gantz Along in the Future
Degel Hatorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni chose to attack Lapid while leaving an opening for cooperation with Gantz in the future: “This union has no connection between its components, Gantz is a worthy person, he was an excellent chief of staff. Lapid is exactly the opposite, I appreciate his talents. In any case, he [Lapid] was a reporter for BaMachane [the IDF magazine publication], but this union puts us in a situation where we cannot go to a coalition with Ganz because he is together with Lapid.”

Gafni added that “it is not appropriate for the State of Israel to have a prime minister in the image of Yair Lapid, who does not know how to run the Finance Ministry, and he wants to run the state?”

According to the agreement between Gantz and Lapid, Lapid would serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the first 2.5 years of the coalition, with Gantz serving as prime minister, and they will rotate during the second half of their term. It is added the party also attracted two additional former IDF Chiefs of Staff, Moshe Ya’alon and Gabi Ashkenazi, and as a result the Blue & White party will present a formidable challenge to Likud and the right-wing as a party with three retired IDF chiefs is perceived as being a high-end ticket in the eyes of many voters.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)