Adina Bar Shalom
Adina Bar ShalomFlash 90

The Achi Israeli party, headed by Adina Bar Shalom, announced on Tuesday that it will not run in the upcoming elections for the Knesset, despite having submitted its slate to the Central Elections Committee last week.

"In view of the political reality that has emerged over the past few days and out of responsibility for the electorate, the party council has decided not to run in the elections for the 21st Knesset," the party said in a statement.

"The Achi Israeli party will continue to advance its values, first and foremost a respectable and unifying discourse that allows for a discussion of disputes by means of clarification and the formulation of joint agreements and the granting of a place for existing differences in Israeli society."

"We are committed to continuing to work to realize the ideas of the Achi Israeli party and the working plan we have written in recent years in the fields of education, society, health and co-existence," the party said.

Bar Shalom is the daughter of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the late spiritual leader of the Shas party. While she had expressed support for Shas in previous elections, a rift broke out between her and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri.

The former chairman of the Yeruham Council, Michael Biton, was also involved in the establishment of the Achi Israeli party. But he left the party at the start of the election campaign and joined Benny Gantz's Israel Resilience Party, which is now running for the Knesset as part of the Blue and White list together with Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party.