Netanyahu's Efforts to Sway Knesset Candidate Winter Fail

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Kabbalist Rabbi Bneiahu Shmueli, who is considered influential over Brigadier General (Res.) Ofer Winter, a candidate in the upcoming Knesset elections with the "Am Israel" party. The conversation occurred amid efforts to persuade Winter to withdraw from the race, aiming to prevent a weakening of the right-wing bloc's strength in the elections. Following the discussion with Netanyahu, Winter met with Rabbi Shmueli and affirmed his full support for him.

Earlier on Sunday, Rabbi Eli Sadan, head of the Eli Pre-Military Academy, publicly backed Winter, the chairman of the "Am Israel" party, rejecting persuasion attempts by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister Bezalel Smotrich to have the list withdraw. In a released recording, Rabbi Sadan stated his belief that only if Winter's party passes the electoral threshold will Netanyahu have a "full right-wing government." He explained his public statement was to refute false information spread in his name, clarifying he wishes for Winter to succeed.

The statement marks an apparent failure of pressure campaigns led by Netanyahu and Smotrich in recent days. Last week, they visited Rabbi Sadan at his home in Eli, attempting to enlist him in urging Winter to withdraw. The meeting also included Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, the founder's son Rabbi Yehuda Sadan, and two alumni in key political roles: Netanyahu's Chief of Staff Ido Norden and Religious Zionism Campaign Manager Omer Rahamim.

Winter himself, who is close to Rabbi Sadan, has recently emphasized that while he consults with rabbis, he makes the final decisions. In an earlier interview this month, Winter blamed the Likud party for any potential failure, stating, "If we fall, the one responsible for the right-wing's fall is Benjamin Netanyahu, who doesn't stop shooting us in the back. He who shoots himself in the foot shouldn't be surprised he's limping."

The "Am Israel" party is in a close survival battle. According to the latest poll aggregation before the survey publication ban, the list had not yet passed the electoral threshold, though it was approaching it.