October 23, 2026
Efforts to pressure the leader of the “Haredi Public” Party, Moti Leitner, to withdraw from the electoral race turned into a public confrontation a few days before the Israeli elections, after he rejected a political offer personally presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and turned off his phone to cut off any contact with the pressure parties.
A report published by journalist Anna Persky in the Israeli newspaper “Maariv” revealed that Leitner announced on Wednesday evening that he would move forward with running in the elections until the end. Officials in his party confirmed that a decisive message was conveyed to all parties involved in the communications, stating that there was no intention to withdraw or enter into new negotiations, stressing that the press conference he held was aimed at resolving the situation once and for all.
This escalation came in the wake of intense contacts that took place in recent days between Leitner and senior officials in the “Likud” and “Religious Zionism” parties, which included a meeting held by the “Likud” campaign director, Zvika Prut, with Leitner to try to convince him to back down. According to informed sources, the offer included assuming the position of a special official responsible for the affairs of the Haredi public, with broad powers over projects and budgets estimated at hundreds of millions of shekels, allocated to enhancing Haredi employment and establishing Haredi governmental educational institutions.
The efforts reached their peak on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, with a personal meeting between Netanyahu-Bleitner in Petah Tikva, where he demanded that he withdraw. Leitner listened to the presentation, but he expressed fundamental doubts about the possibility of implementing the commitments in light of the opposition of the “Shas” and “Torah Judaism” parties to the changes he seeks to put forward.
In his decisive statement on Wednesday evening, Leitner launched a sharp attack on the leadership of the Haredi parties, accusing their leaders and representatives of making threats against him. He said: “We are not withdrawing. The monopoly of Shas and Torah Judaism is over,” adding that his party aims to grant political representation to tens of thousands of Haredim who he believes are deprived of a political voice.
The repercussions of the decision were not limited to the government side, as Yair Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s son, entered the crisis line, attacking Leitner via the “X” platform, saying: “Shame on you! You are intentionally leading to a left-wing government.” This attack comes in light of growing fears within the Likud Party that the participation of small lists affiliated with the right will lead to the dispersal of votes within Netanyahu’s camp.
With this development, the Leitner case went beyond being merely negotiations for an electoral withdrawal, to turn into a direct political test of the extent of Netanyahu and Likud’s ability to control the right-wing camp and prevent the leakage of votes in the final meters before the vote.
