Yesh Atid, the political party led by Yair Lapid, held his official event yesterday announcing his party list and introducing the candidates. Rabbi Dov Lipman from Bet Shemesh was introduced as the candidate for the 17th spot on the Yesh Atid list.



I am not a big fan of polls, and at this point in an election they are very unreliable, but even with the best polls Yesh Atid received when they first joined the marketplace of political parties 17 was only borderline realistic.

I don't know if Rabbi Lipman will make it into the Knesset or not, but we wish him the best of luck. Bet Shemesh can use every MK it can possibly get. Bet Shemesh, as far as I know, has never before sent anyone to the Knesset, under any party platform. Rabbi Lipman joins a number of other local Bet Shemesh people running, or rumored to be running, for Knesset. Bet Shemesh might send 4 locals to the Knesset, under the best of circumstances (though that depends on how you define "best of circumstances"):

1. Keti Shitreet, 24th on the Likud list. Definitely a realistic spot, but it could depend on how the final unified list with Yisrael Beiteinu will be formed.
2. Rabbi Dov Lipman, 17th on Yesh Atid's list.
3. Rabbi Moshe Abutbol, his patron, Rav Reuven Elbaz, is supposedly pushing for Abtubol to be added to the Shas list. I have heard the slots considered for him, if at all, are anywhere from the 8th until the 11th slot. If it happens, it could be realistic for him to get in to the Knesset. 
4. Moshe Montag, rumored to be considered for the 3rd spot on the Degel list, which might translate to 7th on the unified UTJ list. Again, not really realistic, but possible under the right circumstances. 

The deadline for submitting final party lists is I think this Thursday, so we will see who the final decisions will include and who they will exclude, but Bet Shemesh can use every patron and voice it can get at the national level, so I wish all of them the best of luck. Even being in unrealistic spots, it just means they respectively will have to work all that much harder to make their spots realistic.