The Belz Hasidic community is set to replace its longtime Knesset representative, Deputy Communications Minister Israel Eichler, with a younger figure ahead of Israel's next parliamentary elections, sources within the movement confirmed today.
The decision follows a similar shake-up in Degel HaTorah, the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox faction of United Torah Judaism, which recently removed veteran lawmakers Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev from its candidate list. Now Belz, one of the largest Hasidic groups within the party's Agudat Yisrael faction, is making its own generational change.
Eichler, who has served intermittently in the Knesset since 2003 as Belz's representative on the Agudat Yisrael list, will be replaced by Elyakim Stark, a rising senior figure in the movement. Stark currently serves as chairman of the Belz executive committee and recently managed the community's entire political operation during local elections, gaining substantial political experience.
According to sources within Belz, the Belzer Rebbe recently blessed Stark and indicated he would be the movement's next representative in the Knesset. The Rebbe's only son, Rabbi Aharon Mordechai Rokeach, is said to hold Stark in particularly high regard.
Sources told Kikar Hashabat that Eichler was shocked when informed of the decision in recent days, but made clear he accepts whatever the Rebbe decides. "You could say Eichler was genuinely hurt by this move (he didn't expect it) but as a faithful Hasid, he accepts the decision," one source said. "It seemed locked in that Eichler would continue, and now everything has changed. It's possible that because of Degel's decision to remove veteran and capable MKs, it was decided here as well to bring in fresh faces."
