Moshe Gafni Ousted from Knesset List After 38 Years in Haredi Party Shakeup
Degel HaTorah leader Moshe Gafni and MK Uri Maklev will be excluded from the upcoming Knesset list. Jacob Asher will assume leadership of United Torah Judaism, potentially becoming the faction's first-ever cabinet minister.
A major political shift is underway within Israel's ultra-Orthodox leadership following the failure to pass the military draft exemption bill. After 38 years in parliament, the long-standing chairman of the Degel HaTorah party, Moshe Gafni, will be excluded from the upcoming Knesset list alongside veteran lawmaker Uri Maklev.
A New Era of Leadership
Taking the helm of Degel HaTorah is MK Jacob Asher, who will also lead the joint United Torah Judaism (UTJ) alliance. Asher, the former mayor of Bnei Brak, has long been a close confidant of the non-Hasidic Lithuanian rabbinical leadership.
He was highly trusted by the late Rabbi Steinman, and maintains a close relationship with the current spiritual leader of the Lithuanian community, Rabbi Dov Lando. David Shapira, Rabbi Steinman's grandson and a key figure in Rabbi Lando's household, strongly supports Asher's promotion.
Sources close to Rabbi Lando indicated that the decision to refresh the list was driven by the failure to secure the draft exemption law, a desire to present "new blood" to voters, and a push to install lawmakers directly loyal to the current rabbinical court to deepen its influence over the faction.
Historic Demand for a Cabinet Seat
Leadership of the joint UTJ list rotates between its Hasidic faction (Agudat Yisrael) and the Lithuanian faction (Degel HaTorah). With Degel HaTorah slated to lead the alliance in the next elections, Jacob Asher will head the entire UTJ list.
During internal negotiations, Degel HaTorah officials raised an unprecedented demand:
"For the first time, a representative of our party must be appointed as a full cabinet minister in the next government."
Historically, Degel HaTorah politicians avoided ministerial posts due to ideological reservations, preferring to serve as deputy ministers or committee chairs. If UTJ joins the next coalition under these terms, Asher is expected to become the party's first-ever cabinet minister.
Potential New Candidates
In addition to the removal of Gafni—who chaired the powerful Knesset Finance Committee for over a decade—and Maklev, several municipal leaders are being considered for the new list:
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Menachem Shapira, Deputy Mayor of Bnei Brak;
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Yaakov Guterman, Mayor of Modi'in Illit;
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Eliezer Rauchberger, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem;
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Michi Alper, Degel HaTorah faction leader in Haifa.
Other potential candidates include Beitar Illit Deputy Mayor Dudi Salz, Bnei Brak education administration chief Rabbi Moshe Rosenthal, and Jerusalem Religious Council Deputy Chairman Moishy Zeloshinsky.
