From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Bennett fears a fall to single digits
Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett is worried that his party may end up with Knesset seats in the single digits.
Speaking to Israel National News, Bennett says, “I returned from Holon, Bat Yam, Beersheba, Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malachi and now I’m headed for Jerusalem – the regional branches give us reports and the situation is not very good.
“There is a massive siphoning of votes from Jewish Home to Likud, including in the heart of hearts of religious Zionism — a feeling like Likud is trying to crush us,” Bennett says.
“I think this will be a great mistake since a large Likud with a small Jewish Home is a very dangerous thing, and has led to the disengagement, the Hebron agreement and the Bar-Ilan speech,” Bennett says.
The Jewish Home leader called on the public not to vote strategically: “I call on the public to vote from the heart, not do these calculations, because in the end it will cause us great damage.
“I feel there are a lot of votes moving from Jewish Home to Likud. Likud is anyway in very good shape and what matters is the number of people who recommend to the president” who should form the next coalition, he adds.
“We mustn’t become a single-digit number [of seats in the Knesset]. I am optimistic because there are still many hours left,” Bennett concludes.
The Times of Israel Community.