Rosh Yeshivot Bnei Akiva, HaRav Chaim Druckman, is calling on the Yemina list not to split up as announced is taking place, calling for continued achdus, adding the united list should remain with Ayelet Shaked at the helm.

The rav admits his disappointment with the outcome of the Knesset election, as the dati leumi camp was hoping for a better outcome. He attributes the outcome to “being subverted by the left-wing camp and the second reason, that Netanyahu pulled some of our votes. The third reason is the splits within the camp; between Noam and Otzma Yehudit, with the latter unwilling to compromise. Relative to all this, I think we could not have asked for a better result”.

The rav spoke with the media, addressing a number of questions.

Should Ayelet Shaked step down due to the outcome?
Certainly not! I think she must continue leading the party. She is not to blame for what occurred. She brought better results than anyone else could.

Running together: Shaked, Bennet and Smotrich?
First of all, they are checking to determine if they can retract their request [to split into their respective parties] as there is more strength in one larger party. The second thing, they say they would carryout combined [coalition] negotiations. I think they should remain one large combined party in order to avoid losing their strength. This demands remaining together, led by Ayelet Shaked. Rabbi Rafi Peretz is still the head of the religious Zionist camp, but Shaked must continue to lead [the combined party].

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)