Will first-ever primaries shake up Israel’s ultra-Orthodox?
For the first time since the establishment of Israel, an ultra-Orthodox party will hold primaries to determine its list for the next election instead of relying on rabbis to name them.
Former minister and Knesset member Eli Yishai, the former chairman of ultra-Orthodox Shas who ran in the last election in a new party (Yachad), revealed on Oct. 16 that the party will hold open primaries in advance of the next election. These primaries will determine Yachad's list for the Knesset. In the 2015 election, the Yachad list didn’t win the minimum votes for a seat in the Knesset, but Yishai is not giving up.
Yishai’s decision to hold primaries has shaken up the ultra-Orthodox community. Since the establishment of the state, ultra-Orthodox parties have never held primaries. The parties’ leading rabbis determine the lists of candidates, making an effort to represent the sector’s subgroups on the list.
