Davidi Ben Zion, a candidate for Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party, announced Tuesday evening that he was withdrawing from the political race following an intense pressure campaign aimed at preventing the party from splitting the right-wing vote in Israel’s upcoming elections. Newly disclosed WhatsApp messages reveal that the campaign extended into Ben Zion’s own community and took a significant emotional toll on his family.

The circumstances surrounding his departure emerged after journalist Shirit Avitan Cohen published messages that Ben Zion had shared with friends earlier in the day, describing the public pressure he was facing and its impact on his wife.

According to the messages, opponents of his continued candidacy had placed signs throughout the community where he lives, displaying his photograph alongside demands that he withdraw from the race.

Ben Zion sent his friends a photograph of one of the signs, explaining that similar posters had appeared across the community. He also described the distress the situation had caused his wife, writing, “She is devastated by this.”

The signs were part of a broader campaign urging Ben Zion to abandon his candidacy amid concerns that Amcha Yisrael could draw votes away from other right-wing parties and thereby weaken the bloc’s electoral position.

The pressure was therefore felt well beyond the usual political arguments surrounding a new party’s participation in an election. According to Avitan Cohen’s reporting, the campaign became increasingly personal, with Ben Zion and his family finding themselves at the center of efforts to persuade him to step aside.

Later Tuesday, after deciding to withdraw, Ben Zion sent another message to his friends explaining that his family came first. He parted from them warmly and wished them success as they continued their activities.

Avitan Cohen characterized the withdrawal as the culmination of a difficult campaign of public pressure directed at Ben Zion and those closest to him. In her account, the strain on his family ultimately played a decisive role in his decision.

The controversy reflects a wider debate within Israel’s political right over the participation of smaller parties in national elections. Critics of such parties argue that votes cast for factions that fail to cross the electoral threshold can reduce the number of Knesset seats won by the broader ideological bloc.

Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party has become part of that debate as the election approaches, with opponents of a divided right-wing ballot urging candidates to reconsider their participation.

For Ben Zion, however, the decision was shaped by more than electoral calculations. The messages disclosed Tuesday show how a political dispute over the distribution of right-wing votes developed into a personal ordeal, with public demands for his withdrawal appearing in his own neighborhood and affecting his family’s daily life.

{Matzav.com}