United Torah Judaism declines to join move to replace Knesset Speaker Ohana

UTJ chairman MK Yaakov Asher told Yashar faction chairman MK Roey Folkman that his party will not support replacing Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana before a new government is formed, blocking an effort by Gadi Eisenkot.

Chairman of United Torah Judaism, MK Yaakov Asher, announced today (Monday) that his faction will not join the move to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. In an official letter sent to the chairman of the Yashar faction, MK Roey Folkman, Asher clarified that United Torah Judaism's principled position is that replacing the Knesset Speaker should be carried out together with the formation of a new government, and not before. Asher explained that this is the practice in the Knesset over the years, except for one isolated case, and is intended to prevent a situation where the Knesset Speaker would be adversarial to the government. His statement poses an obstacle to Gadi Eisenkot's attempts to muster a majority to replace Ohana before a government is formed.