Do they even have rabbis?

An opinion piece by Dr. Eliezer Hayon argues that a new Haredi party emerging represents a historic opportunity for change in Haredi politics, addressing young voters' fears of failing to pass the electoral threshold.

An opinion piece by Dr. Eliezer Hayon, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, discusses the rise of a new Haredi party challenging the existing Haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism. The author argues that events of recent years—the Meron disaster, sexual abuse cases, the coronavirus, and the October 7 massacre—should have spawned alternative leadership, but young Haredim are afraid to vote for the new party due to concerns it won't pass the electoral threshold. He describes social, communal, and economic barriers preventing new power from emerging, noting that the new party offers individual and rational voting not based on obedience to a rabbi. The author calls for supporting the party as a way to rectify injustices, stating that even if it doesn't pass the threshold, the turnout will be a historic milestone.

Do they even have rabbis?