Israeli Politicsupdated 55m ago3 min read
Benjamin Netanyahu Fails to Persuade Moti Leitner to Quit Knesset Election Race
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Netanyahu pressed Moti Leitner to drop out of the election race. Netanyahu reportedly offered Leitner a special adviser role in government.
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Netanyahu tries, fails
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a hours-long attempt to persuade Moti Leitner, leader of the Haredi party known as “HaTzibur” (The Public), to withdraw from the Knesset election race scheduled for October 27, but failed, according to a report by “Zman Yisrael.”
Political analyst Shalom Yerushalmi of Zman Yisrael said Netanyahu spent “an entire night” trying to remove Leitner from the electoral contest, and Yerushalmi wrote that between 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Netanyahu used “all his influence and his well-known charm” to persuade him to withdraw before sunrise.
Leitner stood firm and announced that he would remain in the race until the end, and Yerushalmi said Leitner told Netanyahu bluntly that he would lose the election.
Leitner claimed he had access to in-depth polls backed by substantial financial investment, and Leitner told Netanyahu, “Even if the Haredi parties collectively win 18 seats—which they will not reach—they will still be unable to win the election.”
Yerushalmi added that Aryeh Deri, leader of the Shas party, is also convinced that the right-wing bloc will fail to surpass 58 seats this time, even under the most favorable circumstances.
Leitner rejects pressure
Moti Leitner refused to quit the election race despite pressure from Netanyahu and his allies, and Leitner said he met with Netanyahu “at his request and listened to his proposal.”
Leitner told reporters, “I am not withdrawing. We are not withdrawing. We are moving forward at full force and building a new political home,” and he said United Torah Judaism and Shas were “threatening me and ignoring the need for change.”
Netanyahu reportedly met Leitner on Tuesday night in Petah Tikva in a last-ditch effort to get him to withdraw, and the meeting followed at least one reported phone call Netanyahu made to Leitner over the weekend.
Leitner insisted he would stay in the race until the end, saying he does not feel he has the “moral right” to quit the election.
The Times of Israel said Leitner’s party is expected to fall well below the 3.25 percent election threshold, and it said the party threatens to siphon votes from the two main Netanyahu-aligned ultra-Orthodox parties.
Strategy shifts and stakes
Netanyahu shifted strategy toward voters who support smaller right-wing parties rather than trying to persuade their leaders to withdraw, as he sought to maximize support for his political bloc ahead of the elections.
The assessment in the report said Netanyahu’s primary concern was remaining prime minister, even if it meant parting ways with existing political partners, and it said he may be prepared to consider forming a unity government while excluding National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit head Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The report said Netanyahu and RZP chairman Bezalel Smotrich intensified their criticism of Winter and Leitner, accusing them of irresponsibility and of jeopardizing the right-wing bloc's chances of securing a Knesset majority.
In a separate development, Yashar leader and election opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot pledged that he would not serve in a government led by Netanyahu, even under a rotation agreement, and Eisenkot told Radio 103FM, “I unequivocally pledge that I will not serve under Netanyahu in a rotation agreement. Period.”
The Times of Israel reported that television surveys released Wednesday by Channel 12 and Channel 13 showed Netanyahu’s bloc winning 51 and 49 seats respectively, while the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot received 52 seats from Channel 13 and 55 from Channel 12.