Yisrael Beitenu leader Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman met with Shas leader Aryeh Deri on Thursday, 28 Adar. The two met in private in the office of a friend, possibly to begin charting their course ahead of coalition talks with the prime minister and his negotiating team.
Deri and Lieberman are old good friends and it is not unlikely they are trying to see if there is a common ground that would permit working together.
Deri was reportedly going to be meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday as well.
It is somewhat difficult however seeing Shas and/or its rabbonim signing any agreement with Lieberman, who spent a better part of this administration hounding the chareidi tzibur.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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IF Lieberman says he isn’t interested in joining, Netanyahu can still have a 61 seat Nationalist-Hareidi coalition. IF Deri doesn’t join, Netanyahu can replace the hareidim with Yesh Atid. Both of them lost substantial votes in the last election.
The major issue is hareidi conscription, and if Lieberman was proposing the alternative (e.g. end conscription for everyone in return to liberal benefits for those who do serve, including veterans) it would carry much weight. And of course most Shas supporters and all Yisrael Beiteinu supporters do serve in the army and would greatly benefit from such a change.
I hear they have the same guy who manages their bribes and thats how they first met