PM said to meet head of Charedi Public party in last-ditch effort to get him to quit race

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday night with Moti Leitner, head of the new ultra-Orthodox Charedi Public party, in an attempt to persuade the party to withdraw from next week’s election, according to Hebrew media reports.

Leitner’s party, which is expected to fall well below the 3.25 percent election threshold, threatens to siphon votes from the two main Netanyahu-aligned ultra-Orthodox parties.

He has rebuffed several attempts in recent weeks to convince him to quit.

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Promoted: JPPI, Rabbi Sharon Brous

According to the Ynet and Haaretz news outlets, Netanyahu personally met with Leitner on Tuesday night in a last-ditch effort to get him to drop out, one week ahead of the vote. The meeting, which was held in Petah Tikva in central Israel, came after repeated overtures by the Prime Minister’s Office, the reports said.

The meeting followed at least one reported phone call Netanyahu made to Leitner over the weekend, in which he was said to offer to advance policies important to the party.

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One offer reportedly extended to Leitner was to appoint him as a special adviser for ultra-Orthodox affairs in the next government, in exchange for dropping out.

Leitner has repeatedly insisted he will stay in the race until the end, saying he does not feel he has the “moral right” to quit the election.

Charedi Public has set itself apart from mainstream ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas with its relatively moderate stances on IDF enlistment and Haredi education, and by including women on its Knesset slate.

Its priorities include funding for ultra-Orthodox yeshivas, an agreed-upon military conscription plan, and core curriculum studies for the Haredi community.

Leitner has said that Likud and the Haredi parties missed their chance to reach an agreement before the party slates were finalized last month, adding that he is now less willing to cooperate and does not trust their promises.

No poll has shown Charedi Public winning enough votes to enter the Knesset, raising the prospect that any support it receives could be wasted if it falls short of the 3.25% electoral threshold.

Netanyahu has also targeted Ofer Winter’s People of Israel party, which has hovered around the threshold in recent polls. Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich met with Rabbi Eli Sadan, Winter’s spiritual mentor, on Tuesday in an effort to persuade Winter to withdraw, fearing he could cost their bloc crucial votes.

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