In recent months, the new chairman of United Torah Judaism, Yitzhak Goldknopf, has been touring the length and breadth of the country. He saw the task of the list's success in the elections as a personal duty to the Haredi public, which was groaning under the outgoing government.
Without skipping almost any group or community, he worked to close corners, connect communities, establish headquarters, and create solutions to crises that arose from time to time.
His aides say that they received messages and emails from him to handle even in the wee hours of the night - on issues related to the success of the fateful campaign for Haredi Judaism - when in the morning he asks to receive answers and reports on where things stand.
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Every day in recent months, often accompanied by his close advisor Moti Babchik, he visited the homes of his envoys, the rebbes and leaders of Hasidic courts. He humbly asked for their blessings and prayers for success in his role as representative of Haredi Judaism in the Knesset.
The day of the voter began after morning prayers and study in the community, at the residence of the Rebbe of Gur, to give thanks and receive blessings in preparation for the fateful campaign, for the continued prosperity of the world of Torah, for the welfare of the people of Torah, and for raising the foundation of Hasidism.
From there, he continued straight to the polling station next to the large Gur Seminary on Yirmiyahu Street, in the Zvia Ulpan. He told the many media outlets gathered there: "I hope that today, with God's help, we can put an end to the suffering that the Haredi public has endured over the past year - the Lapid and Lieberman governments." He urged the public to go out and vote and beware of indifference.
As he put the envelope in the ballot box, he said: "I have fulfilled the commandment to listen to the voice of the sages, to sanctify the name of heaven!".
After the vote, the chairman of United Torah Judaism went to the central headquarters of Agudat Israel on nearby Brandeis Street, where headquarters managers Yossi Deitch and Yanki Berger presented him with the map of the divisions by community and the real-time voting data by polling station in each city.
Goldknopf spoke by phone with several representatives across the country whose job it is to enter the data into the central headquarters, and asked them to update him on any slowdown in the voting rate. Before continuing on to his next destination, he addressed the activists at the headquarters: "It is moving to see our dedicated activists, who are giving their heart and soul to the fateful campaign. We must show them great respect.".
Before leaving the headquarters, he called the groom, who was on his wedding day, to make sure he went out to vote as instructed by the elders of Israel.
The next stop was at the United Torah Judaism headquarters in Tels-Stone. There he met with the head of the council, Yitzhak Ravitz, and together they encouraged the activists to maximize their voter turnout in the community. At the end of the visit, he joined the statement of the chairman of Degel Hatorah, Moshe Gafni, to work to expand the community upon the establishment of the government, in an effort to help solve the housing shortage in the area.
At the central headquarters in Beit Shemesh, he met with representatives of the working Haredim, and expressed his admiration for their dedication to the campaign: "As I promised in my meeting with you last week, immediately after the elections I will appoint a representative in my office to coordinate all your inquiries. I will be your representative in the Knesset.".
From there he continued to visit the "Shabbat Table" stand set up by the Shabbat headquarters near the polling stations and showered praise on the project. The next stop was the Vizhnitz Hasidim headquarters in Ashdod, where data was first seen that reflected the trend later in the day in all the Haredi concentrations. "I am happy to see the high turnout with you, you are carrying out the Rebbe's teaching with elegance." In between tours of the headquarters, he went to recite the blessing with the sons of the Rebbe of Gur.
During his visit to Nahalat Har Chabad in Kiryat Malachi, he was informed about the slowdown in the pace of voting. He spoke with community activists and local United Torah Judaism activists, reiterated that it looked like it was going to rain, which would prevent many from going out to vote, and asked that voters be urged to vote as early as possible.
He also closely followed the headquarters in Tel Aviv and Petah Tikva, as he signed off on election day at the Agudat Yisrael command and control center in Bnei Brak, to which data flowed from all over the country. The headquarters managers briefed the list chairman on the true data.
Goldknopf told the headquarters managers that positive surprises are expected because Gur's followers are operating among new audiences and, according to the data he has, there is no reason why United Torah Judaism will not reach 8 seats.
He ended his busy day with an emotional speech after the results were announced. He declared his intentions to help the Haredi education system, lower the cost of living, and assist in the housing sector. He reiterated his promise to help with settlement and stand by the settlers in Judea and Samaria, and concluded with a prayer for the privilege of being a faithful emissary to the great men of Israel and the people of Israel.
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