Agudath Yisrael Secretary Declares Two Members' Status Revoked

Hanoch Zeibert, Secretary-General of Agudath Yisrael, has sent letters to Meir Porush and Elyakim Stark informing them that their membership in the party has been revoked. This action follows their departure from Agudath Yisrael to run in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections as part of a separate faction, "Chomat Torat Yisrael." Zeibert cited the party's bylaws, which prohibit members from belonging to or affiliating with another political party or entity with political ties to another party.

The immediate consequence of their revoked membership is the invalidation of a recent decision by Agudath Yisrael's leadership to appoint Porush and Stark as authorized signatories for the party's accounts. This decision was made on Monday, prior to their official split. Zeibert expressed suspicion that Porush was aware he would not run with Agudath Yisrael even during the leadership meeting where he was approved as an authorized signatory. He also noted that Porush did not vote in favor of this clause during the meeting.

Zeibert also addressed the financial implications of the split. According to an agreement between the parties within the "Yahadut HaTorah" bloc, Agudath Yisrael's funding budget will be halved, with the other half allocated to Porush's new party. Consequently, Zeibert announced that Agudath Yisrael's routine operations will be frozen, except for activities necessary for election preparations.

Despite the complete separation, Zeibert requested that Porush and Stark appoint a representative to coordinate on matters requiring inter-party cooperation during the election campaign.