In this week's column, "Makor Ne'eman," published in the supplement of "Yated Ne'eman," the news editor addressed Aryeh Zisman According to the polls published in the media and the choice of the Yesh Atid chairman to join Naftali Bennett and give up first place. Zisman concludes that Lapid takes seriously the polls of Shlomo Filber - who repeatedly presented in the polls he conducted, the low point to which the Yesh Atid party has reached, close to the percentage of the electoral barrier.
Here is the excerpt from the column:
Beyond all the interpretations of the connection between Bennett and Lapid, there is another interesting angle that deserves mention and attention: the gaps in the polls between the various institutes and channels, which directly influenced Bennett and Lapid's decision to unite.
While all the news channels are awarding a high number of seats to the opposition parties and Bennett, pollster Shlomo Filber on Channel 14 insists on awarding the Likud a much higher number of seats than anyone else, with a significant gap compared to the opposition bloc.
In Filber, the coalition bloc frequently receives between 64 and 68 seats, while the other channels give the coalition up to 50 seats (at best). This is an unusual gap, which, based on past experience, will narrow as we get closer to the elections.
The media, and of course the left and the opposition, tend to mock Filbert, claiming that he "fixes" the polls according to his own inclinations.
This is exactly the place to mention: The first to predict the great fall of Yair Lapid and his party from 24 seats in the current Knesset to a low single-digit number was Filber. At the same time, the other channels and polling institutes continued to give Lapid and Yesh Atid double-digit numbers.
Filber continued on this line, and in the latest polls he determined that Lapid would not pass the threshold. The other channels recognized the trend and began to gradually lower Lapid, but still gave him a relatively high number of seats - single digits, close to 10. Only Filber continued to insist: Lapid would not pass the threshold.
Lapid himself apparently recognized the trend and, above all, the internal pressure that had begun to bubble up in his party. Many of Yesh Atid's MKs realized that they would not be in the next Knesset, and became a constant target for stinging attacks from Netanyahu and the Likud, who called on them to "flatter" to Lapid, so that he would place them at the top of the list, and then perhaps they would still manage to survive politically and make it to the next Knesset.
""Shout loudly in the plenary, and capture Lapid's attention," they were told. At the same time, as mentioned, Lapid's fear grew that some of them would seek another political home, with Eisenkot, Bennett or Lieberman.
This raises an interesting possibility: Lapid believed Filbert's polls more than those of the other channels. Therefore, he chose to join forces with Bennett to save himself and his party. If he had believed the other polls, it is doubtful that he would have rushed to give up the lead, especially in light of everything he has said recently against Bennett ("He will take the mandates and go into government with Netanyahu").
The meaning is clear: if Lapid takes the Filbert polls seriously, he should examine all the numbers they present accordingly and stop mocking them. He who laughs last mocks…
Incidentally, Filber himself leaves no room for doubt. From his perspective, the union between Bennett and Lapid is not a move that crowns Bennett, but rather limits him and he will be the next opposition leader, while Lapid at most secures his seat in the next Knesset.
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
