United Torah Judaism says only Netanyahu's camp has reached out to the party

The office of Yaakov Asher, a Member of Knesset (MK) and chair of the ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism, said that no party leaders had contacted the party apart from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the statement, which was published by political commentator Amit Segal, the only approach was a message conveyed from the prime minister's circle saying that he intends to stand by the parties in his coalition.

The office said it was issuing the clarification in response to questions from journalists. Ynet, the news site of the Yedioth Ahronoth group, carried the same position in a brief alert quoting the United Torah Judaism chair, saying that heads of parties had not approached the party, with the exception of Netanyahu. Separately, the Israeli outlet News.co.il reported that Netanyahu had sent a message to the leaders of the right-wing parties saying he means to keep the coalition parties together.

Who United Torah Judaism are

United Torah Judaism, often abbreviated as UTJ and known in Hebrew as Yahadut HaTorah, is a political alliance representing Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, Jewish voters. Its members sit in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, where the abbreviation MK (Member of Knesset) is used for lawmakers. Yaakov Asher, who issued the statement through his office, is identified in the reports as the party's chair.

Haredi parties have long been a feature of right-wing governing coalitions led by Netanyahu, and the statement places UTJ among the parties the prime minister's message was addressed to.

Why a coalition message matters

Israel's governments are formed by coalitions. No single party typically wins enough seats to govern alone, so a prime minister depends on several partner parties to hold a majority in the Knesset. Statements about which party leaders are talking to which partners are closely watched, because they can signal whether a coalition is holding together or whether rival blocs are trying to draw parties away.

Against that background, the statement from Asher's office does two things. It says that no other party leader has approached UTJ, and it says that the one message the party did receive came from Netanyahu's side and expressed his intention to keep the coalition partners together.

How the reports differ

The three reports agree on the substance but differ on some details.

• Who sent the message. The full statement from Asher's office, as posted by Amit Segal, describes a message passed on from the prime minister's surroundings, meaning his circle or aides, rather than from Netanyahu in person. The Ynet alert's headline phrases it more simply, saying no party heads approached UTJ except Netanyahu.
• Who received it. The statement from Asher's office speaks only about UTJ. News.co.il reported that Netanyahu's message went to the heads of the right-wing parties more broadly, which suggests it was not addressed to UTJ alone. The UTJ statement neither confirms nor contradicts that wider distribution.

None of the reports quote Netanyahu or his office directly. The account of his message comes from UTJ's statement and from News.co.il's report.

What the reports do not say

The reports leave several questions unanswered:

• They do not explain what prompted journalists to ask UTJ whether it had been approached by other party leaders, or which party leaders, if any, were thought to be seeking contact.
• They do not give the exact wording of the message attributed to Netanyahu, who in his circle conveyed it, or when it was sent.
• They do not say how UTJ responded to the message, or whether the party has committed to anything in return.
• They do not name the other right-wing party leaders who, according to News.co.il, received the same message, nor do they include any reaction from those parties.
• There is no comment in the material from the prime minister's office confirming or describing the message.

Israel.com will update this report if further statements are issued by the parties involved.