Report: Netanyahu pressing senior Haredi rabbis to oppose Eisenkot-led government, after lawmakers rebuff him

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to pressure ultra-Orthodox spiritual leaders to oppose a government led by Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, after failing to secure the backing of ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, Channel 12 reports.

Netanyahu has sought to meet Degel HaTorah spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando and Moshe Hillel Hirsch — two of the senior leaders of the so-called “Lithuanian” non-Hasidic faction of the United Torah Judaism party — at their homes, or send emissaries to speak with them, but was rebuffed, the report says.

Ultra-Orthodox party officials reportedly describe the pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office as inappropriate and “frenzied.”

According to Channel 12, Netanyahu has told associates he wants the ultra-Orthodox parties to vote against an Eisenkot government rather than abstain, as UTJ did in its consultation with President Isaac Herzog. He is said to want a new election, believing he would win and then be able to meet the parties’ demands.

The report also says right-wing activists are distributing posters against joining what they call a “left-wing government,” with demonstrations outside the rabbis’ homes planned as a potential next step.