On the eve of the election, Kikar HaShabbat political commentator Yishai Cohen laid out what he sees as the real test for Moti Leitner and his HaTzibur HaChareidi party, which is running independently to give working chareidim a political voice.
Speaking on Kikar’s Davar Rishon program with hosts Moshe Manas and Shuki Salomon, Cohen said everything comes down to the numbers.
If Leitner manages to bring in around 40,000 voters from the heart of the chareidi world, in Yerushalayim, Bnei Brak and Modiin Illit, it would be a dramatic event, Cohen said. That would amount to a full seat’s worth of chareidi protest, and the political system would have to take it into account.
But if Leitner draws only 10,000 to 15,000 votes despite his campaign and media exposure, the outcome could backfire. Veteran chareidi politicians, including Aryeh Deri, Moshe Gafni and Yaakov Asher, would present the result as proof that most of the chareidi public is wary of Leitner’s path, Cohen said, and that could end up hurting the cause of working chareidim rather than advancing it.
In Cohen’s view, the right solution lies with the existing chareidi parties, which should wisely include genuine representation of working chareidim within their own ranks.
