By YAAKOV LAPPINsneh aj 224.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Despite the less than promising showing in the polls for the Yisrael Hazaka (Strong Israel) Party, which has placed the war on crime atop its agenda, a major dissonance exists between the poll results and public opinion, party chairman Ephraim Sneh told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
Sneh's fight against crime has not only been limited to election campaigns and slogans - his car was torched 15 days ago, apparently because he intervened to help a family retain ownership of a Kfar Saba cafe in the face of an attempted takeover by an associate of the Ohanina crime organization.
"I can tell you, from walking around public markets and schools, that the responses [to our campaign] have been very positive. The reason [for the low poll results] must lie elsewhere," Sneh said.
He added that a phone survey carried out by the party covering over 1,200 homes found that "several percentages" of the respondents supported the party's focus on crime as a central issue. "The results of the survey were higher than the figures seen in the polls," Sneh said.
"We took a very important social issue and we provided a solution," Sneh said.
He acknowledged the fact that Yisrael Hazaka is "a new, small party with limited means. [But] the people, if you talk to them, appreciate our message."
Sneh's rankings among youths fared far better than his standing in the polls - at one school mock elections, his party received 10% of the vote.
With two days left until the elections, Sneh said it was best "to wait and see" what the real results would bring.
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
