Rabbi Eli Sadan
Rabbi Eli SadanCredit: Avi Ohayon/GPO

Two leading Religious Zionist rabbis decided that they will support Ayelet Shaked as a candidate for the leader of a united right-wing party instead of the chairman of Jewish Home, Rabbi Rafi Peretz.

Channel 13 News reported that Rabbi Eli Sadan, the head of the Eli preparatory institute, one of the most influential rabbis on the political right and the one who brought Peretz to Jewish Home, decided in recent days to support Shaked.

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the rabbi of Safed, has also decided to withdraw his support for Peretz and is expected to support Shaked. Rabbi Eliyahu's choice is significant since he was a senior signatory to the rabbis' letter published two weeks ago, stating that only a religious person can lead the right-wing union.

According to the report, the decisions come against the background of pressure exerted by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Peretz not to give up the first place in the party, which could undermine a possible union with the New Right. This, according to reports, is because Netanyahu is interested in two separate right lists in order to prevent the leak of votes from the bloc to other parties.