January 20, 2013 -Campaign Winding Down- Rabbi Yosef Call Bayit Hayehudi Goyim

The Israeli election campaign is winding down. There have been no great surprises, no significant issues raised, and ultimately, no sense in the streets that an election is taking place. No rallies, no one working the streets, no one at the train stations, nothing. I live in an area that was the center of the protest movement last year. In our neighborhood, other than a few posters, here and there, you would really have no idea that an election was scheduled in less than two days.

The most interesting development in the last day was a speech given by Rav Yosef stating that HaBayit Hayehudi (a party where over half of its Knesset members are rabbis) is "a party of goyim". Rav Yosef stated that it was against his halachic ruling to vote for such a group. Today, books that one of Rav Yosef's sons wrote were found partially burned in Or Yehuda. Shas was quick to blame the followers of Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak, another contender for the Shas votes. It would be hard for me to describe Amnon Yitzchak. It is hard for many to take him seriously. However, Shas sees him as a serious threat. Yitzchak's latest campaign ad boasted that he will fight to bring the price of a loaf of bread down to one shekel.

If you would like to read a short summary explaining Israel’s electoral system, I have written one here: