Israel Elections: Pro-3rd Temple Party Gets Decisive Boost In Polls
By David Sidman/BIN September 10, 2019
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After it was announced on Thursday that the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party was polling at four mandates, another poll, this time from the Israeli Daily Yisrael Hayom, also showed the party getting four seats for the first time since elections were called in May on Friday.
In an exclusive interview with Breaking Israel News, party head Itamar Ben-Gvir came out in favor of building the Third Temple.
Four mandates are required for any political party to even enter the Knesset (parliament). This means that the fact that they are polling at four seats for the first time is especially significant. Interestingly, the same day that they came out in favor of building the third Temple (Thursday) was the same day that the original poll in the Knesset channel showed them getting four seats.
Another reason why the poll results are vital is that as a right-wing party, those four seats will likely secure Netanyahu a coalition following elections.
According to the poll which was done in coordination with i24 News, the ‘right-wing’ block nears 60 mandates without Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beitenu (Israel is Home) party. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s main challenger, Benny Gantz‘s Blue and White party is losing ground while Netanyahu’s Likud party is gaining steam.
The daily theorizes that the change in the poll results is affected by the tension in Israel’s north with Hezbollah. Although the actual clash only lasted for one day, it could still have an impact on the sentiment.
Another reason for Otzma Yahudit’s rise could have something to do with Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut (Identity) party dropping out of the race. Feiglin, who openly calls for building the third Temple, was promised a position as a high ranking official in Netanyahu’s government.
The survey took a sample of 603 Israeli adults in Israel with a margin of error of 4%. Now that Otzma Yehudit is expected to enter the Knesset, the forecast shows the center/right-wing block headed by Netanyahu gaining 58 seats. The Center/left-wing block headed by Benny Gantz getting 51 seat while Yisrael Beitenu is polling at 11 seats.
Originally published at Breaking Israel News - reposted with permission.
