Leading Degel HaTorah rabbis actually held an emergency meeting in Bnei Brak shortly before the election because they were concerned that many Charedim were considering staying home rather than voting, despite warnings from Rav Landau and Rav Hirsch that not "winning in a big way will be a huge Chillul Hashem and will show that G-D doesn't want us"
Commentators and political activists pointed to several reasons:
- Frustration with Charedi political leadership.
- A feeling among some voters that the parties were not effectively advancing community interests.
- Internal disputes within the Charedi camp.
- A belief among some that their individual vote would not significantly affect the outcome.
On election day, Bnei Brak's turnout lagged behind the national average during much of the day. Reports noted turnout of about 28.4% by noon, lower than the nationwide figure at that time, which worried UTJ leaders.
That said, it's worth noting that Bnei Brak's final turnout historically has usually been quite high, often in the mid-to-upper 70% range in national elections. For example, turnout in the 2022 election was 76.5%.
Many observers attributed the lower turnout to growing dissatisfaction with their Torah Leaders
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