Moti Babchik

A bitter political feud between Israeli Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf and his powerful chief of staff Moti Babchik has led to mediated negotiations aimed at redefining their respective powers within the Gur Hasidic sect.

Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf is pushing to remove his powerful chief of staff, Moti Babchik, just two days before Knesset candidate lists close, amid wider ultra-Orthodox political shakeups.

Behind the scenes of the Haredi world, the possibility of translating the opposition to the conscription of yeshiva students into a new electoral force is being examined. However, senior official Moti Babchik has already publicly clarified that Gur does not intend to give up its leadership within Agudat Yisrael.