**The Crisis in United Torah Judaism:**
Party chairman Yaakov Asher met today with his number two, Goldknopf, amid threats from Goldknopf’s Hasidic community, Gur, to boycott the elections unless its demands are met (as reported by Dafna Liel).
As previously reported here, Goldknopf intends to abstain from the vote on forming an Eisenkot government due to his estrangement from Netanyahu. Asher wants the party to present a united position, but this is just one of several disagreements.
Gur’s second representative is ranked eighth on the party list. The boycott threats reveal something interesting: Despite the significant natural population growth in Israel, everyone there seems to believe that, at best, the party will retain its seven seats. Otherwise, Gur would be rushing to the polls to secure a seat for its representative.
The party’s grassroots supporters are unenthusiastic, and the campaign is plagued by internal divisions and is ineffective.
**Will United Torah Judaism drop to six seats?**