New Haredi Party Demands Inclusion in Shas and United Torah Judaism Lists Ahead of Elections

A new Haredi political party named "The Haredi Public" was launched on Sunday, calling for its representatives to be included in the electoral lists of Shas and United Torah Judaism ahead of the upcoming Knesset elections. The party claims to represent tens of thousands of Haredim from dozens of communities and local factions, aiming to renew political leadership within the sector. It has initiated a campaign worth over two million shekels focused on Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, and Elad under the slogan "No Haredi Party Without The Haredi Public."

The party's leaders cite recent surveys conducted by various research institutes showing that over 40% of Haredi party voters believe their representatives have handled their personal needs very poorly, and about 45% feel the parties do not address the Haredi public's needs. More than 55% of the entire Haredi public reportedly express dissatisfaction with their parliamentary representatives, with around 15% believing these representatives are corrupt. Only about 20% describe themselves as satisfied with the performance of Haredi Knesset members.

In recent months, the party's leadership engaged in talks with senior figures from Shas and United Torah Judaism to integrate new representatives into their lists. After no progress was made, they decided to establish a joint political framework to advance their demands. The party is led by Moti Leitner, deputy mayor of Beit Shemesh and chairman of the "Derech" faction there. Leitner emphasized the unprecedented challenges facing the Torah world, including economic hardship and rising dropout rates, stating the party was founded to strengthen leadership and broaden representation of the Haredi public.

The party intends to work within Shas and United Torah Judaism to promote solutions related to the cost of living, dropout rates, and Torah study, aiming to secure proper representation for the Haredi public within these parties. They view the current campaign as the first phase of a broader initiative and warn that if their inclusion demands are not met, they will expand their public activities in the near future.