Who they are
Moti Leitner founded and chairs Hatzibur HaHaredi, and sits on the Beit Shemesh city council for Derech, the faction he built there. He was born in Jerusalem and raised in the Rachmastrivka Hasidic community, and was educated in a Talmud Torah and yeshivas. He trained as a Hebrew teacher, sat his matriculation exams as an adult and retrained as a software developer, making a career in software and DevOps.
In Beit Shemesh he helped found Hasidic schools in the state-haredi stream, which pair a Hasidic way of life with core subjects. He set up Derech for the 2024 municipal elections and enlisted in the IDF in November 2023, in the middle of the campaign. Derech ran on its own and took two council seats, and he joined the coalition with the security and emergency, young-communities and haredi sport portfolios, holding the title mishneh rather than a statutory deputy mayoralty.
In 2026 he took the faction national as Hatzibur HaHaredi, and it launched a Knesset run of its own in August after United Torah Judaism refused him a slot.
Positions and record
Haredi service: Supports continued Torah study for full-time students, with military, security, national or civilian service for those who do not study full-time.
Core studies: Supports parental choice of school, supplementary English and maths for children whose schools omit them, and more Haredi schools offering secular subjects.
Shas and United Torah Judaism: Said at his August 2026 party launch that Shas and United Torah Judaism had allowed the Jerusalem Faction to dictate their politics.
Employment: Supports vocational training and access to paid work for young Haredim and family breadwinners.
Immigration: Calls for billions more in immigrant support, help with municipal procedures and school placements, and suitable schools for Haredi immigrants.
Where they stand
Holds the party line on every issue.