Shomron deputy chief quits Winter's party, cites pressure

Dovidi Ben Tzion, deputy head of the Shomron Regional Council, addressed his decision to withdraw from the Amcha Yisrael party in an interview Tuesday night on the Kan Halailah program on Reshet Bet, a week after announcing the move. Ben Tzion explained what led him to quit and admitted he had misjudged the party's chances of crossing the electoral threshold.

"I assumed we would easily be in a much higher position, because I apparently didn't assess the strength of the campaign that was run against us," Ben Tzion said in the interview. He noted that he decided to withdraw after realizing he would not be able to advance his values within the party's current framework.

Ben Tzion also spoke about the personal price he and his family paid in recent weeks. "A public figure who enters the political game has to take such phenomena into account. Anyone who goes out in the rain without an umbrella shouldn't be surprised when he gets wet," he said, referring to the pressure and signs that were hung against him in his town of residence.

He also described the discomfort his wife experienced at her workplace as a result of the political storm. "Comments my wife absorbed at her workplace" were part of the price the family paid, he said.

Asked whether party chairman Ofer Winter should draw conclusions similar to Benny Gantz's withdrawal in the past, Ben Tzion replied: "My job is to take responsibility for myself. Ofer is a serious person and will make his own decisions."

Ben Tzion's withdrawal comes against the backdrop of heavy pressure applied to the Amcha Yisrael party in recent days. Benny Gantz announced his withdrawal from the Knesset race yesterday, a move that increased pressure on Winter to do the same.

Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich publicly called on Winter to withdraw, warning that the continued candidacy of a party that is not certain to cross the threshold could lead to the left coming to power. "The left is now organized with zero wasted votes. Unfortunately, on the right the situation is now completely the opposite," Smotrich said.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Smotrich also met this week with Winter's rabbi, Rav Eli Sadan, in an attempt to pressure the party chairman to withdraw from the race. At the meeting, Rav Sadan was shown in-depth polls indicating that Winter has no chance of crossing the threshold.

Winter himself reacted angrily to the meeting: "Netanyahu, I heard that you and Smotrich are on your way to Rav Eli Sadan to pressure me to withdraw. Guys, internalize this. The people of Israel want different politics. The people of Israel are sick of this ugly campaign."

Two polls published several days ago determined that the Amcha Yisrael party is not crossing the electoral threshold. In the i24NEWS poll, the party weakened to a low of only 2.9% of voter support, and in the Kan News poll it did not appear at all on the distribution map.