HaRav Chaim Druckman, a leading rav in the dati leumi community, stated that Bayit Yehudi has not closed its gates to Naftali Bennet and Ayelet Shaked, who broke away ahead of the last election to form the New Right party. The party failed to reach the minimum electoral threshold to enter Knesset.

Speaking with the Yisrael Hayom newspaper, Rav Druckman explained “Bayit Yehudi has not closed the door before Shaked and Bennet. I am in favor of uniting the right-wing parties, but we must sit and decided the details”.

Rav Druckman’s statements come as there is much criticism from inside the party, with the consensus being if the two return, they cannot return to their party leadership positions.

On Sunday, MK Betzalel Smotrich, the number two man in Bayit Yehudi, called on PM Netanyahu to appoint him and party leader MK Rabbi Rafi Pertez to the posts of education and justice minister respectively after he fired Bennet and Shaked from the cabinet.

Smotrich explained that members of his party must be represented around the cabinet table.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)