The haredi (ultra-Orthodox) United Torah Judaism Party (UTJ) will remove veteran MKs Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev from its Knesset slate ahead of the upcoming elections, the office of the faction’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Dov Lando, confirmed late Saturday night.
Gafni has long served as chairman of Degel HaTorah, a faction within UTJ, which runs jointly with another haredi faction, Agudat Yisrael. Since the 1992 elections, Degel HaTorah has run with Agudat Israel.
MK Yakov Asher will reportedly replace Gafni on the list and head UTJ, instead of MK Yitzhak Goldknopf, who currently chairs the joint list in the Knesset.
Gafni first entered the Knesset as a Degel HaTorah representative in 1994, while Maklev entered the Knesset in 2008.
In a statement released late Saturday night, Lando’s office said the decision was made “due to the need to refresh the ranks of the party’s Knesset members,” adding that “the two senior representatives will leave the Knesset in order to make room for new representatives.”
The announcement also came following reports of tensions over Ganfi’s relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the issue of haredi conscription to the IDF amid the IDF’s manpower crisis.
UTJ had attempted to pass contentious legislation that critics argued would not increase haredi enlistment during the government’s term. The legislation was later shelved, though other controversial haredi-backed bills were passed in July.
Gafni, Maklev reportedly surprised by decision to be removed from slate
Both Gafi and Maklev were surprised by the decision to be removed from the UTJ’s Knesset slate, according to a Sunday N12 report.
Their removal also comes ahead of the final deadline for parties to submit their Knesset lists on Tuesday, before the October elections.
