Netanyahu
NetanyahuFlash 90

A group of wealthy donors in the United States are reportedly joining together to swing the April elections in favor of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

According to the haredi magazine 'Bakehila', the donors are worried over recent polls that show former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz closing the gap with Netanyahu. Polls the group has commissioned reportedly show that Netanyahu is in dire straits, causing them to fear the left is capable of returning to power.

The donor team held an emergency meeting last week in New York, their first such meeting since the 2015 elections.

The report says that the group is headed by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov, a Chabad rabbi who is long thought to be close with Netanyahu. Aharonov is thought to have played a key role in causing Netanyahu to sweep to power in 1996, as he coordinated a massive Chabad-run campaign titled "Netanyahu is good for the Jews" that brought thousands into the streets.

The report comes as Gantz closes in on Netanyahu in recent polls. Since his campaign kickoff on Tuesday, assorted surveys have found Gantz collecting as much as 23 seats. One poll found that a potential union between Gantz and Lapid would catapult them past the Likud with 35 seats, allowing them to form the next government.

In addition, Gantz has closed the gap on polls querying Israelis who they think is most suited to be prime minister. A poll by Channel 13 found that Netanyahu and Gantz were tied at 42%, while Hadashot found Netanyahu slightly ahead of Gantz by a margin of 36% to 36%.