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United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yaakov Asher sought Monday to shut down speculation over the party’s willingness to help establish a government headed by Gadi Eisenkot, declaring that UTJ’s position will be determined by one overriding issue: securing the status of bnei yeshivos.
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“United Torah Judaism has no desire to bring down or crown anyone, and we do not act out of revenge or other interests,” Asher said.
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According to Asher, the party’s position is dictated by the instructions of the Gedolei Yisroel, rather than by loyalty to or opposition toward any particular candidate for prime minister.
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“The only thing that guides us is the instruction of the Gedolei Yisrael, according to which United Torah Judaism, with all its components, will not support or enter any government without regulating the status of Torah learners,” Asher said.
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The statement followed reports that senior figures in Ger believe Agudas Yisroel chairman Yitzchok Goldknopf could abstain rather than vote against a minority government headed by Eisenkot.
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Those reports fueled intense political speculation that Agudas Yisroel could be preparing to break from the political alignment it has maintained with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in recent years, particularly following the bitter dispute over the failure to pass legislation protecting bnei yeshivos from the draft.
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Goldknopf responded to the reports by emphasizing that Agudas Yisroel would not assist any future government unless its demands on the draft issue are met.
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“Agudat Yisrael will not support the establishment of a government and will not provide outside support to any government without resolving the status of yeshiva students and passing a draft law without sanctions and without quotas,” Goldknopf said.
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The wording of the statement did not specifically rule out Eisenkot or any other candidate for prime minister. Instead, Goldknopf placed the focus squarely on the draft law and the status of bnei yeshivos.
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That distinction has become particularly significant because Eisenkot has taken a sharply different position on the draft issue. He has repeatedly said that broadening military service will be a fundamental condition for a government he heads and has said that he would prefer another election rather than compromise on the issue.
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The two positions therefore leave a substantial gap between Eisenkot and the chareidi parties even as reports continue to raise the possibility of new political alignments after the election.
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The controversy erupted after reports attributed to senior figures in Ger suggested that Goldknopf would not necessarily vote against an Eisenkot minority government. According to those reports, he could instead abstain, potentially making it easier for such a government to receive the confidence of the Knesset.
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An abstention would be politically significant because an incoming Israeli government does not necessarily require 61 affirmative votes if fewer than 120 MKs vote for or against it. Abstentions can therefore affect the balance between supporters and opponents during a confidence vote.
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At the same time, neither Goldknopf nor Asher has announced that UTJ would facilitate an Eisenkot government. Their public statements instead establish the draft issue as the condition that would have to be resolved before the party would support or enter any future coalition.
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Asher’s statement is also significant because it was issued in the name of United Torah Judaism as a whole, amid deep internal divisions within the chareidi political establishment and the widening dispute inside Agudas Yisroel itself.
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The message from Asher was that personalities and longstanding political alliances will not determine the party’s position following the election. According to his statement, the decisive issue will be whether a prospective government agrees to protect the status of those learning Torah in accordance with the directives of the Gedolei Yisroel.
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With coalition calculations already dominating Israel’s political campaign, the declaration adds another major condition to the formation of the next government: for United Torah Judaism, Asher says, there will be no coalition support without first resolving the status of bnei yeshivos.

{Matzav.com}

Light rail service in Yerushalayim was partially suspended Monday after an electrical cable was damaged near the Monster Park area, disrupting service during a busy travel period and forcing passengers to rely on replacement bus routes.
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Maintenance crews were dispatched to repair the damaged cable and worked at the site in accordance with the required safety procedures. During the disruption, light rail trains operated only between Neve Yaakov North and Denya Square.
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Passengers traveling toward Hadassah Ein Kerem, or heading from the hospital toward central Yerushalayim, were directed to alternative bus services.
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For passengers traveling toward Hadassah Ein Kerem, several replacement options were made available from the Hechalutz stop on Ish Shalom Road at the corner of Farbstein Street. Routes 27 and 27A served stops from Yefeh Nof through Hadassah Ein Kerem, Route 33 operated to Yefeh Nof and Har Herzl, Route 35 served stops between Yefeh Nof and Monster Park, Routes 91 and 505 traveled to Yefeh Nof, and Route 16 was available for passengers heading to Har Herzl.
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For those traveling in the opposite direction, Route 27 operated from Hadassah Ein Kerem to Denya Square. Route 19 served the route from Hadassah Ein Kerem through Monster Park and continued toward the downtown area at Davidka. Route 35 operated from Monster Park to Denya Square, while Route 16 ran from Har Herzl on Hapisgah Street and Yefeh Nof to Denya Square. Route 91 also operated between Yefeh Nof and Denya Square.
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Additional replacement service was made available from the Central Bus Station. Routes 27 and 27A traveled from the station through Kiryat Moshe, Hechalutz, Yefeh Nof and Har Herzl before continuing to Hadassah Ein Kerem. Route 39 served Kiryat Moshe, Yefeh Nof and Har Herzl.
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In the direction from Hadassah Ein Kerem, Route 27 operated to the Central Bus Station, while Route 19 ran through Monster Park and continued to Davidka in the city center. Route 35 operated from Monster Park to Hechalutz, Route 39 from Yefeh Nof to the Central Bus Station, Route 16 from Har Herzl through Yefeh Nof and Denya Square to Hechalutz, and Route 91 from Yefeh Nof through Denya Square to Hechalutz.
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Officials said at the time that full light rail service would resume once repairs to the damaged electrical infrastructure were completed.

The escalating internal battle within Agudas Yisroel spilled into the streets Sunday night when MK Meir Porush was physically attacked by a group of individuals following a Simchas Bais Hashoeivah in Kiryat Gat.

Porush had attended the Simchas Bais Hashoeivah of the Kretschnif chassidus, where he was seated prominently at the mizrach alongside the Kretschnifer Rebbe. According to reports, shortly after the event concluded and Porush left the gathering, a group that had been waiting outside confronted and attacked him.

The incident reportedly was not spontaneous. According to Kikar HaShabbat, messages had circulated beforehand on internal communication lines identified with the Ger chassidus calling on people to come to the location because Porush would be attending the event.

The confrontation comes amid an extraordinary rupture within Agudas Yisroel following the establishment of Chomas Toras Yisroel, the new political faction formed by Porush, representing Shlomei Emunim, together with Belzer representative Eliakim Stark.

Earlier Sunday, Porush participated in a founding gathering for the new faction in Bnei Brak, where representatives of the participating communities gathered as the new political framework moves forward ahead of the elections.

Stark addressed the gathering and spoke sharply about what he described as the failures of the existing political leadership in protecting the Torah world.

“We did not succeed in the most basic mission, of protecting yeshiva students and kollel avreichim,” Stark said, calling for renewed unity around a political approach aimed at protecting the Olam HaTorah.

The creation of Chomas Toras Yisroel represents one of the most significant internal changes within United Torah Judaism in decades. Under the new arrangement, Porush and Stark are operating through a separate political framework while remaining part of the broader United Torah Judaism list.

The move followed months of mounting friction within Agudas Yisroel, particularly between Porush and figures associated with Ger, over control of party finances, representation and the allocation of political resources.

In an interview ahead of Sukkos, Porush publicly explained why he believed the split had become necessary.

“What happened with the handling of the funds in Agudat Yisrael, public funds that belong to the public, is something that is forbidden to do and that I could no longer remain silent about,” Porush said.

According to Porush, the dispute stretches back years.

“For years, and essentially since the changing of the guard, when my late father resigned from his activities in the leadership of Agudat Yisrael, all the funds were controlled by one individual, who was appointed by the Central Faction,” he said.

Porush alleged that the arrangement resulted in “a completely illogical allocation of party resources, an unfair distribution of positions, and more.”

The bitter dispute over the new faction has unfolded alongside another controversy involving the future political direction of Agudas Yisroel.

Recent reports have claimed that figures within Ger have been considering how the faction would respond to the possible formation of a government headed by Gadi Eisenkot. One report claimed that Yitzchok Goldknopf might abstain rather than vote against an Eisenkot-led minority government, fueling speculation that elements within Agudas Yisroel could move away from their longstanding political alignment with Netanyahu.

Goldknopf subsequently responded by setting out conditions for Agudas Yisroel’s participation in or support for any government.

“Agudat Yisrael will not support the establishment of a government and will not provide outside support to any government without resolving the status of yeshiva students and passing a draft law without sanctions and without quotas,” Goldknopf said.

UTJ chairman MK Yaakov Asher similarly sought to distance the party from speculation that its decisions would be driven by personalities or political retaliation.

“United Torah Judaism has no desire to bring down or crown anyone, and we do not act out of revenge or other interests,” Asher said.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu holds an overwhelming advantage over his political rivals among Israel’s chareidi population, with 84% of respondents in a new poll naming him as the person best suited to serve as prime minister.
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The survey, conducted among the chareidi public and analyzed by veteran pollster Shlomo Filber, found that Netanyahu towers over every other potential candidate for the premiership, with none of his rivals reaching even 5%.
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Gadi Eisenkot finished a distant second with 4% support. Benny Gantz received just 1%, Naftali Bennett registered 0.8%, and Avigdor Lieberman received only 0.2%.
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The results are particularly striking in light of the severe political tensions that have developed between the chareidi parties and Netanyahu’s government over the status of bnei yeshivos and the ongoing battle surrounding a new draft law.
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Despite those disputes, the survey suggests that anger over the draft issue has not translated into significant support among chareidim for any of Netanyahu’s leading political opponents.
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The findings also demonstrate the enormous gap between Netanyahu’s standing among chareidim and that of the politicians seeking to replace him. Eisenkot, who has emerged as a significant challenger to Netanyahu in national polling, managed just 4% among the chareidi respondents surveyed.
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Bennett fared even worse, receiving less than 1%, while Gantz registered only 1%.
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Lieberman, whose longstanding battles with the chareidi parties and positions on religion-and-state issues have made him deeply unpopular within the community, finished at the bottom with just 0.2%.
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The survey comes at a particularly sensitive moment in chareidi politics. The crisis surrounding the draft of bnei yeshivos has strained the longstanding alliance between Netanyahu and the chareidi parties and has prompted increasing discussion about whether that political partnership will continue in its traditional form following the next election.
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Recent reports have even raised the possibility that elements within Agudas Yisroel could take a different approach to the formation of a future government if the issue of bnei yeshivos remains unresolved.
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The new numbers, however, indicate that whatever disagreements may exist between chareidi political leaders and Netanyahu, the prime minister personally remains far more acceptable to chareidi respondents than any of the alternatives presented in the survey.
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The poll should not be confused with a Knesset voting survey. Chareidi voters traditionally cast their ballots overwhelmingly for the sector’s own parties, primarily Shas and United Torah Judaism. The question here concerned whom respondents believe is best suited to serve as prime minister, rather than which party they intend to support.
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That distinction makes the findings especially revealing about attitudes toward Israel’s political leadership. Even chareidi voters who intend to support their traditional parties appear, according to the survey, to overwhelmingly prefer Netanyahu to the other candidates when it comes to who should lead the country.
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The extraordinarily low numbers recorded by Netanyahu’s rivals also indicate that none has thus far succeeded in establishing himself as a serious alternative within the chareidi community.
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The survey therefore presents a striking political picture: despite the upheaval surrounding the draft law, the tensions between the government and the chareidi parties, and continuing uncertainty over future political alliances, Netanyahu retains an enormous advantage among chareidi respondents, with 84% choosing him over every other contender for the premiership.