Below is the email we recieved from Ari Abramowitz about the election day in Israel:
Shalom Friends,
Tuesday, election day, is a day that will go down in history books - especailly for the Bayit Yehudi. From the disregarded political sidelines, the Bayit Yehudi now represents the fourth largest party in the Knesset! Although our hopes were even higher, the party has many reasons to celebrate.
Jeremy and I started the day by davening in Ma’arat HaMachpela in Hebron. Then until evening we traveled throughout Judea and Samaria meeting various communities and rabbinical leadership.
Since the video release, it was difficult to gauge the real public sentiment so neither of us were fully prepared for the “rock star” reception he received in many of these communities. Interestingly, the party representatives told us that if the primaries were to be held today he would be a “walk in” ranking among the highest in the party.
I think that many feel “protective” of Jeremy, recognizing the importance of protecting him from such a shameless smear campaign. To be fair, the language and imagery (both for the Dome of the Rock and the church references) were both poorly spoken and regrettable, but the message of the excitement about a Third Temple and a peaceful coexistence with the nations of the world will continue to grow and resonate around Israel and the world As Jeremy has been covered very heavily in the press, I read through quite a few of the many thousands of talkbacks and the most prevalent theme can be summarized in the talkback below from the Times of Israel:
"With all the other parties lacking, it is no wonder how they desperately scrounge around for material against members of Bayit Yehudi who have run a clean and principled race. Rather than run on their own merits the various parties to the left of Bayit Yehudi choose to fly a banner parading around something that was said two years ago and taken entirely out of context - a statement not meant to be rabble-rousing as the opposing parties would like all to believe." - Zahava Englard
We're 33 years old. We're just getting started!
Again, we appreciate your friendship, solidarity, and support.
You’ll be hearing from us!
Ari
Please continue to keep Jeremy, Ari and Israel in your prayers.