Rabbi Sadan Stands by Winter's Party as Netanyahu Urges Withdrawal Ahead of Vote

Rabbi Eli Sadan, the religious mentor of People of Israel party leader Ofer Winter, said on Sunday that he is confident Winter will pass the electoral threshold. The remarks came two days before the election.

Sadan's comments run against recent efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get him to lean on Winter to quit the race. Netanyahu has also urged voters to avoid smaller right-wing parties polling near the threshold, People of Israel among them.

"I wish Ofer Winter success in passing the electoral threshold," Sadan said. He added that only if Winter makes it into the Knesset will Netanyahu, whom he referred to as Bibi, be able to form a full right-wing government. "That is what I hope will happen," he said.

Last week, Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionist Party, met with Sadan to press for Winter's withdrawal. According to reports, the two raised concerns that recent polls show Winter's party failing to cross the threshold, which could cost the right-wing bloc Knesset seats.

Winter has said repeatedly that he has no plan to drop out. On Sunday, Sadan also spoke warmly of the prime minister, calling him "an excellent prime minister who did many good things for the people of Israel over the years" and saying he would very much like Netanyahu to remain in the post.

Sadan did, however, reject reports that he had told people not to vote for Winter because the party would fall short of the threshold. "I think that is incorrect. I certainly did not say that," he said.

People of Israel has endorsed Netanyahu for prime minister, yet its polling has recently hovered below or just above the required threshold. Netanyahu called on Winter last week to withdraw in order to "save the Right," repeating his argument that doing so would "prevent a dangerous left-wing government" led by the opposition bloc that wants to replace him. He has cautioned that a divided right-wing vote could cost his camp the election.

On Wednesday, Smotrich offered Winter a ministerial post in the Defense Ministry if he left the race. The role would have come out of a ministerial allocation given to the Religious Zionist Party in potential coalition negotiations. Winter turned that offer down as well.

The People of Israel party has set out to unite candidates who have never served in the Knesset and who were not part of the political or security failures surrounding the Hamas-led October 7 massacre.