MK Moti Yogev
MK Moti YogevFlash 90

MK Moti Yogev (Jewish Home) this afternoon sent a pointed letter to party members demanding they hold primaries for party leadership and Knesset candidates, and announced he was withdrawing candidacy for party leadership.

"Religious Zionism is in a genuine emergency; the leaders of the Jewish Home Party have abandoned and left a constitutional and economic vacuum," Yogev said, and attacked: "There are those who took advantage of the situation and took over the party undemocratically, without cooperating with the current Knesset Members, without transparency regarding who are the members and the Central Committee members, what is the real financial balance of the party - claiming we must put off party members who for years paid for the ability to exercise their right to vote in the primaries.

"These procedures harm the voters' trust; they may certainly secure the candidacy of some candidate, but they will definitely harm voters' trust. Tens of thousands of voters and hundreds of central committee members paid money to influence the election of party chairman and elected officials. This is defrauding the public. Is it conceivable that the mechanism that so-to-speak draws its power from the 'will and last testament' of a party member who abandoned should continue to control a party whose power comes from a broad religious Zionist population without democratic processes?! What is happening at the moment is endangering the future of the political home of religious Zionism.

"I call on members of religious Zionism and the Jewish Home: Don't lend support to a committee that would decide for you the party chairman or any of its elected members. In this way, we'll reap broad and diverse public trust. We'll bring a good and diverse team that will bring the best result in the next general elections," Yogev added.

"This is the time to save the Jewish Home," said Yogev. "This isn't the time to deal with personal political aspirations but to build a broad, solid, and democratic foundation that will garner public trust.

"A party whose elected representatives are emissaries committed to the religious Zionist public and to the nation of Israel, partners in the Israeli Knesset and in the government of Israel, under the leadership of the people and the State of Israel."