Amid reports from Walla News and other agencies that Shas may be turning its back on Yahadut Hatorah in coalition talks, it appears that Moshe Gafne, Yaakov Litzman and Aryeh Deri are in contact, seeking to define their positions in the hope of presenting a unified 18-seat Shas/Yahadut Hatorah front in coalition talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s emissaries.
Deri has been in contact with Deputy Health Minister Litzman and Knesset Finance Committee Chairman Gafne in recent days ahead of the scheduled beginning of the coalition process on Wednesday, 19 Shevat 5773, when the president begins meeting with party leaders.
There are reports that Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai has also sent signals to Gafne and Litzman, seeking a meeting. It is clear that following the elections, the fragile unity that agreed between Shas’ co-leaders has evaporated and the disharmony may ultimately be Shas’ worst enemy, not Lapid or other potential coalition parties.
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(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
I thought all policy in Shas is set by Chacham Ovadia. How can there be infighting over policy? Is Shas’s purported belief in following the Da’as Torah of Chacham Ovadia real or is it all a sham?
The policies are set by the gedolim, how to implement those policies are up to the politicians. Note that in our community, politicians are never the “leaders” but merely the most important followers.
News has it, that Yishai brings different facts to the table than Deri does. Chacham Yosef can only make decisions based on the info he receives.