Until a few weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign tactic was to help the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) garner enough votes to enter the Knesset and thereby ensure a 61-seat majority for his right-wing, ultra-Orthodox bloc of parties. The party’s racist agenda did not matter to Netanyahu as long as it helped him hold on to power. It was reported on Feb. 13 that Netanyahu’s close associate Natan Eshel had even tried to persuade the ultra-Orthodox Yahadut HaTorah to instruct some of its followers, members of the smaller Hasidic courts, to vote for Otzma Yehudit, as if the Hasidim were tradable commodities. Eshel also reportedly appealed to senior religious Zionist rabbis, asking them to express public support for Otzma Yehudit rather than Yamina, their home party.
Nothing transpired from the outreach to Yahadut HaTorah, and polls commissioned by the Likud showed that in any case the small Otzma Yehudit will only be wasting right-wing votes if it runs in the March 2 elections, as it would still not have enough support to get into the Knesset. On Feb. 18, reports emerged that the Likud was exerting strong pressure on Rabbi Dov Lior, one of the most radical religious Zionist rabbis, to convince Otzma Yehudit Chair Itamar Ben-Gvir to drop out of the race. Ben-Gvir, however, has stood his ground. Not only does he not intend to bow out, he is offering his voters a “worthwhile deal”: Vote Otzma Yehudit, and I'll protect Netanyahu.
