Parties / Unaligned

The Haredi Public (HaTzibur HaHaredi) הציבור החרדי

MEF poll average, seats

range in window

seats now

Seats in every 2026 poll; line is a five-poll rolling mean; dotted line = threshold

Leader: Moti Leitner, Party chairman; ranked 1. The list's top four include two women, a first for a Haredi party (Ynet, 2026-09-08) [source, September 8, 2026]
Bloc: Unaligned
Founded: announced 2026-07-19 with an advertising campaign in Haredi cities; Knesset run and campaign launched 2026-08-23 in Beit Shemesh (JPost https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/art...; Ynet https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hjmjaqdwzl)
Seats, 25th Knesset: 0
Status 2026: sub-threshold in polls; running alone but in merger talks. Channel 12 poll of 2026-08-30 gave it 1.2 percent (1.5 percent in a Smotrich-Feiglin merger scenario), below the 3.25 percent threshold (Yeshiva World https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2592108/; Bhol https://www.bhol.co.il/news/1737809). A party source said it is in talks with Ofer Winter's camp about joining forces (VINnews https://vinnews.com/2026/09/01/talks-underway-between-tzibur..., 2026-09-01). Ben Gvir said he has no plans to add new small Haredi factions to his list (Matzav 2026-08-17).
List Status: Approved by the Central Elections Committee plenum on 2026-09-27; 12 candidates as of the CEC page last updated 2026-10-01. Ballot letters: זך. Ballot name: הציבור החרדי בראשות מוטי ליטנר.
MEF Poll Average: (below threshold in most polls); range to across 0 polls in the window

Background

The party was announced on 2026-07-19 by Beit Shemesh deputy mayor Moti Leitner with billboard campaigns in Haredi cities, stating a goal of representing working Haredim who feel unrepresented by Shas and UTJ (JPost https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/art...). Leitner initially sought representation on the Shas or UTJ lists and support for Haredi enlistment (JPost https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-905477, 2026-08-14). On 2026-08-23 it announced an independent Knesset run at a Beit Shemesh event under the slogan 'This time we take responsibility', promising a list of Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Hasidic candidates (Walla https://news.walla.co.il/item/3862641). Its first poll appearance on 2026-08-30 was 1.2 percent (Bhol). By 2026-09-01 it was in merger talks with Ofer Winter (VINnews).

Knesset List

Order and Hebrew names from the Central Elections Committee (CEC list page, 2026-10-01). Lists are as approved by the CEC plenum on September 27, 2026, with candidate resignations recorded since; ballot letters: זך. Party of record in brackets for joint lists. † marks names whose English spelling is transliterated from the filing rather than taken from English-language press.

Moti Leitner ליטנר פנחס מרדכי [source, October 1, 2026]
Asher Freddy פרדי אשר [source, October 1, 2026]
Nechumi Yaffe יפה מרים נחמה [source, October 1, 2026]
Ziva Glantz גלאנץ זיוה רנית [source, October 1, 2026]
Mordechai Rubinstein † רובינשטיין מרדכי [source, October 1, 2026]
Yitzchak Adlerstein † אדלרשטיין יצחק [source, October 1, 2026]
Aharon Ungar † אונגאר אהרן [source, October 1, 2026]
Yehuda Oppenheimer † אופנהיימר יהודה [source, October 1, 2026]
Chaim Yehuda Leib Gottlieb † גוטליב חיים יהודה לייב [source, October 1, 2026]
Yona Shlomo Kaufman † קאופמן יונה שלמה [source, October 1, 2026]
Eliyahu Goldberg † גולדברג אליהו [source, October 1, 2026]
Reuven Ohana † אוחנה ראובן [source, October 1, 2026]

Platform and Positions

other	The party said its full platform and detailed proposals would be presented 'in the coming weeks' after the 2026-08-23 launch; none located as of 2026-09-03. Items below are launch statements. [source, August 23, 2026]
Haredi draft	Leader statement. 'Those who genuinely study Torah will receive full and absolute protection. Those who are not studying will serve. We will not establish only a Haredi brigade; we will establish an entire Haredi division.' [source, August 24, 2026]
religion-state	Campaign focus: protecting the Torah world while introducing mathematics and English studies in Haredi schools (Talmudei Torah) and expanding employment. [source, August 23, 2026]
economy	Leader statement. 'A father who wants to support his family with dignity must be able to do so'; the party names poverty in the Haredi sector as a core issue. [source, August 23, 2026]
other	Leader statement on rivals. 'A vote for United Torah Judaism or Shas is a vote for the extremists and bullies of the Jerusalem Faction'; Leitner said the existing leadership 'adopted detachment as policy'. [source, August 23, 2026]

Recent Moves

2026-07-19: Party announced with advertising campaign in Haredi cities [source, July 19, 2026]
2026-08-14: Leitner interview: seeks Haredi enlistment and core curriculum; open to representation within Shas or UTJ [source, August 14, 2026]
2026-08-23: Campaign launch in Beit Shemesh; announced independent run for the 26th Knesset [source, August 23, 2026]
2026-08-26: Campaign ads targeted Deri, Gafni and Goldknopf by name; Emess noted no poll had shown the party near the threshold [source, August 26, 2026]
2026-08-30: Channel 12 poll: 1.2 percent, 1.5 percent in one scenario [source, August 30, 2026]
2026-09-01: Party source confirmed talks with Ofer Winter about joining forces [source, September 1, 2026]
2026-09-08: Candidate list filed with the Central Elections Committee (12 names) [source, September 8, 2026]

What MEF Has Published

No MEF pieces matched in the archive since 2025.

Not Verified

Whether the party files a list at all or merges with Amcha Yisrael before the deadline.
Any candidate names beyond Leitner.
Registrar of Parties registration and official website; none located.
Kikar HaShabbat poll item of 2026-09-01 is marked as sponsored content by the party.