The election season and the haredi rift: Political columnist Yaakov Rivlin estimated Thursday morning that the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party is expected to run in the upcoming elections as a purely technical bloc.
According to Rivlin, the haredi party will split into two independent factions post-election, with each side negotiating coalition terms separately.
However, MK Yitzhak Pindrus (Degel HaTorah) firmly dismissed the reports. In an interview with Kol Chai radio, he commented on the publication, stating, "These reports are meaningless.
"There is an entire industry today, including within the haredi media, that needs to make a living, so it constantly has to come up with some exciting new angle... I suggest everyone calm down," he added.
Pindrus also dismissed rumors regarding potential primaries or internal list shakeups: "Perhaps some are envious of Likud - which has primaries and internal tribunals - and want that for us too, thinking, 'Why not make things interesting?' But we are led by the Torah luminaries, and nothing is going to change."
Regarding relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pindrus was asked if Netanyahu bears responsibility for the current situation and replied: "Clearly, he failed to deliver."
Nevertheless, he noted that decisions regarding future political partnerships will be made strictly after the election results are in, based on the rulings of the rabbinic leadership.