Rivlin with Rabbi Yosef, weeks ago
Photo: Dudi Vaknin
Netanyahu meets Shas leader ahead of presidential race
Likud chairman tries to convince Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to support Likud candidate Rivlin in upcoming presidential race, less than a day before Shas comes to formal decision
Less than 24 hours before Shas rabbis are scheduled to meet and decide which presidential candidate to back, Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu met with Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Wednesday night, in an effort to convince him to back Likud's candidate for the post – Knesset Member Reuven Rivlin.
Earlier Wednesday, Likud faction chairman Gideon Sa'ar had met with Rabbi Yosef on Rivlin's behalf, with no apparent success and Netanyahu's last-ditch efforts appear to have fared no better: Senior sources in Shas said that the odds that Yosef or the rabbi's council will agree to back Rivlin were small.
Netanyahu (center) en route to his meeting with Rabbi Yosef (Photo: Yoav Galai)
The Likud chairman asked Yosef to at least allow members of his party to vote freely, but even this request will be rejected, it seems. Shas appears poised to vote as a block – in support of Vice Premier Shimon Peres.
Shas sources told Ynet that they did not appreciate Rivlin's attempts to win party members over to his camp, since the final decision lied in the hands of the Shas rabbi's council.
Rivlin's associates said he was not involved in coordinating the meeting between Netanyahu and Rabbi Yosef.
It is unclear whether the chairman's involvement will help Rivlin or even possibly hurt him, since such a move may scare off supporters from the left, among them Arab MKs who considered voting for a Likud presidential candidate.
