Netanyahu, Smotrich meet Winter’s rabbi to pressure him to quit race; he stays defiant

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Religious Zionism party chairman Bezalel Smotrich met Tuesday with the spiritual mentor of People of Israel party chairman Ofer Winter, in an effort to pressure the former IDF general to withdraw from next week’s election, according to a statement from Winter’s party.

In response to the meeting with Rabbi Eli Sadan, Winter said: “Guys, get it through your heads. The people of Israel want a different kind of politics. The people of Israel are fed up with the ugly, unprincipled campaign you have led and the dishonest methods you employ.”

“We came to offer an alternative, a different kind of leadership for the right,” he declared, calling for leaders who take responsibility and work to unite Israelis.

“Smotrich, this is the way of the Torah,” he added. “You may have plenty of resources, but we have our inner conviction. We are here solely for the people of Israel, and we are going all the way, with all our strength.”

The meeting came amid an aggressive campaign by Likud and its allies to pressure Winter’s party to withdraw, despite his pledge to join only a Netanyahu-led government. With the party hovering around the 3.25 percent electoral threshold in recent polls, they fear it could waste critical votes if it fails to enter the Knesset.

Winter has said that he will not join a Netanyahu government unless it passes legislation mandating universal military service, something Netanyahu’s longtime ultra-Orthodox partners staunchly oppose.

Despite Winter’s pledge to only back him as premier, Netanyahu and his allies have been arguing that he will join forces with the opposition if he enters the Knesset.

Meanwhile, Nissim Louk, whose daughter Shani was murdered by Hamas-led terrorists at the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, announced his support for People of Israel after resigning from his own Knesset race with the fringe, right-wing Orot HaShachar party.

“I believe only one leader in the country is able to carry out full emigration from Gaza — Ofer Winter,” Louk said in a statement, referencing the party’s policy of encouraging Gazans to voluntarily leave the Strip.

Louk’s statement came minutes after the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency announced that a Hamas terrorist who had taken part in abducting the body of his daughter was killed in an airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday.

The killing of Tamer Muhammad Ibrahim al-Sabbagh in northern Gaza’s Jabalia on Monday marks the final member of the Hamas cell that was seen abducting Louk on October 7, with three others killed earlier in the war and one captured by Israeli forces.

Infamous photos taken by AP freelance photographer Ali Mahmud showed a half-naked woman, later identified as Louk, lying unconscious face-down in the back of a pickup truck in Gaza filled with armed men.

Netanyahu said to phone Charedi Public leader in bid to get him to quit race

In addition to his efforts against People of Israel, Netanyahu has personally intervened in efforts to persuade Moti Leitner’s Charedi Public party — a new challenger to the United Torah Judaism and Shas ultra-Orthodox parties — to withdraw from the election, speaking with Leitner by phone on Saturday evening, according to Channel 12.

Netanyahu’s associates have also recently held several meetings with Leitner, offering to advance policies important to his party, the report said.

Leitner said he does not feel he has the “moral right” to quit the race.

The party said it will stay in the election. Its priorities include funding for ultra-Orthodox yeshivas, an agreed-upon military conscription plan and core curriculum studies for the Haredi community.

Leitner said Likud and the Haredi parties missed their chance to reach an agreement before the party lists closed last month, adding that he is now less willing to cooperate and does not trust their promises.

No poll has shown Charedi Public winning enough votes to enter the Knesset, raising the prospect that its support could be wasted if it falls short of the 3.25% electoral threshold.