The threat of the Gur Hasidic sect not to vote for United Torah Judaism | First publication

The Gur Hasidic sect, the largest within United Torah Judaism, is threatening not to vote for the party list in the upcoming elections. The background: a last-minute technical split in the Agudat Yisrael party, which established a new list under United Torah Judaism, pushing Gur's representative, Yitzhak Goldknopf, into the status of a one-man faction. Gur demands that the division of roles be finalized before the elections; otherwise, a quiet instruction will be passed to vote for the 'Black Color' party.

The Gur Hasidic sect, the largest and most influential within the United Torah Judaism party, is threatening not to vote for the list in the upcoming elections, as first reported in the main edition of i24NEWS. The threat stems from a last-minute technical split in the Agudat Yisrael party, the main component of United Torah Judaism. Representatives of the Belz Hasidic sect, Meir Porush and Eliyahu Starck, split off and established a new party that joined the United Torah Judaism list. This move sidelined Yitzhak Goldknopf, the representative of the Gur Hasidic sect, who had led United Torah Judaism until now, and turns him into a one-man faction in the next Knesset. Gur fears this will affect the division of roles after the elections and that there is a coordinated effort to leave Goldknopf without a significant position. Senior members of the sect demand that the division of roles be finalized before the elections. If their demand is not met, the sect will not issue an instruction to vote for United Torah Judaism, and will pass a quiet instruction to vote for the 'Black Color' party, which advocates for a blanket exemption from IDF conscription.