Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu said Wednesday that he was surprised to hear Tuesday that MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz, head of the religious-Zionist Ichud Leumi (National Union) party, had asked to be moved down to seventh place on the party list. “If my father Rabbi [Mordechai] Eliyahu were with us, he would force Ketzaleh to resume leadership of the Ichud Leumi,” Rabbi Eliyahu declared.

“I call on him to take it back,” he added. “We need people like him.”

Ketzaleh said his move was a display of confidence that a joint Ichud Leumi-Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) list would win at least 15 seats.