Ben-Gvir Reserves Ninth Spot for Haredi Operative on Otzma Yehudit List

Otzma Yehudit party leader and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has decided to reserve the ninth position on his party's list for the upcoming 26th Knesset elections for Haredi operative Yossi Goldberger. This move, first reported by journalist Yishai Cohen, aims to bolster Otzma Yehudit's appeal to the Haredi public and translate Ben-Gvir's perceived support within that community into actual votes on election day.

Goldberger is expected to be the most prominent Haredi representative on the list. The reservation is intended to allow the party to deepen its outreach to Haredi voters who may consider supporting Ben-Gvir and his party. This placement is part of Otzma Yehudit's list consolidation ahead of its submission to the Central Elections Committee.

Ben-Gvir seeks to leverage Goldberger's relatively high placement to convert the public support attributed to him in the Haredi sector into electoral power. In related news, Ben-Gvir also informed Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu that he would be placed in the fourth position on the list. Earlier, Ben-Gvir surprised party members by placing Knesset member Tali Gottlieb, who defected from the Likud, in the second spot.

The deadline for submitting party lists and all Knesset candidates is Tuesday.