The Agudat Yisrael and Degel Hatorah factions of United Torah Judaism signed an agreement for a joint run in the upcoming elections Wednesday.
Unlike previous election campaigns, this time the two factions managed to reach an agreement between them in advance, a few months before the official date for submitting the lists to the Knesset.
According to UTJ spokesmen, this was accomplished thanks to close and close cooperation between the representatives of the factions and the guidance of the Councils of Torah Sages "who view the internal unity between the factions as a great and important value for the benefit of the haredi public."
The agreement is based on an equal representation of representatives of the two factions on the joint list. According to the agreement, in the next Knesset, the first place will be given to Agudat Yisrael and the second to Degel Hatorah while the remainder alternate between the factions.
In the following Knesset, the first position will be awarded to Degel Hatorah and the second to Agudat Yisrael.
MK Moshe Gafni (Degel Hatorah), chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, said after the agreement that "we have here an unprecedented historic process, and we are the first faction to conclude its internal deliberations and leave the Knesset with elections [based on] equality. We are counting on the Almighty to bring as many voters as possible to the ballot box in order to deal with the challenges we face. This is a historic agreement from the standpoint of Degel Hatorah in particular and United Torah Judaism in general. "
Deputy Minister of Health MK Rabbi Yaakov Litzman (Agudath Israel): "United Torah Judaism is approaching these elections with full unity and joint forces. We are witnessing a blessed step of sanctifying God's name, to be the first party in Israel to come to an early conclusion on the order of the list and out of unity. I am certain that the move will lead to a significant increase in the elections and to a great success