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How strong is Netanyahu’s alliance with the ultra-Orthodox?

The alliance between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties is one of pure interests; both sides must stick to it or risk failure.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men walk past a Likud party election campaign banner depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump in Jerusalem September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC1A12196B30
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Once he realized on election night that he failed to win 61 seats for his right-wing ultra-Orthodox coalition, the first thing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did was call the heads of all the parties in his bloc. He wanted to keep them close. Only later, at almost 3:00 a.m., he actually arrived at the Exhibition Center in Tel Aviv to address the Likud’s Central Committee. In his speech, Netanyahu made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t going anywhere (in case someone or other in the Likud started putting an attempt to remove him into motion). And ever since that night, Netanyahu has spent most of his time keeping the ultra-Orthodox and right-wing parties close and applying pressure to the Likud’s top leadership to ensure they remain united behind him.

Once Netanyahu formed his 55-seat bloc consisting of 32 seats for the Likud, nine for Shas, seven for Yahadut HaTorah and seven for Yamina, he has been keeping them as close as possible to prevent Blue and White from forming a new government. How close? So far, he has had countless phone calls and personal meetings with the bloc’s top leadership. One thing about Netanyahu: If he needs something, he knows how to court people with rare intensity and enthusiasm. Now that his political future relies on his colleagues in the right-wing ultra-Orthodox bloc, Netanyahu is doing exactly that. “If he could, he would bring them all back to his office and babysit them himself to watch them 24 hours a day, just to make sure that they stick with him,” one senior Likud minister told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. He claims that Netanyahu considers this 55-seat bloc to be an existential necessity.

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