Shas has broken away from coalition talks as party leader Aryeh Deri insists the new government must agree to his plan to eliminate value added tax on essential items, part of Deri’s plan to assist two million Israelis living under the poverty line.
Speaking with Kikar Shabbos News, he stated he regrets the pre-election party announcement backing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. “We should have let him sweat it out and not announce our support, simply to let wait him out. He is abusive to us because we were too quick to announce our support”.
Deri added “Likud and Netanyahu should spend a few months in opposition to understand the chareidi parties as well as the other parties”.
The dispute between PM Netanyahu and Deri also surround Deri’s demands for control of a ministry such as the Ministry of Welfare to permit Shas to assist the underprivileged. The prime minister has yet to respond to Deri.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
Deri should only ask for Ministry of Welfare, a shared Ministry of Religion and only for no V.A.T. on food, not restaurants, catering or prepared foods.
The US would never think of charging tax on food, let alone 18%, that is an affront to basic living needs of the poor who spend a major amount of their income on food.
Cozying up with those who who are opposed to the basic traditions of Judaism will in the long run not achieve anything lasting.
He should try to convince the PM and not practice vengeance for past wrongs.
Does anyone want to volunteer to give Deri the rope to hang himself with?
What a terrible political manoever for the Frum communitiy. Not the time for political posturing. Mr Deri, First get on the winning team, restore funding for yeshivas and the child allowance.
Vat comes later….one step @ a time Mr Deri
One sees the importance of the role gedolim play in frum parties. In all other parties, the political leaders tend to develop oversized egos and make horrible mistakes since the come to feel the world revolves around them. One sees this is almost all parties, on both sides of the political system. Only in a party led by gedolim (Degel ha-Torah or Agudath Israel, Shas until recently)are the leaders kept from feeling that they are the “raison d’etre” of the party, and are they kept in line.
Deri appears to be seriously confused about how much Netanyahu needs him, and it will be the causes that Shas voters hold dear that will suffer.
What an incredible mechutzaf this creature is! He is a convicted criminal and now seeks to become a cabinet minister. Netanyahu should slam the door on him as they did in Maasiyahu jail when he was there. The pone who needs to sweat is Deri. Hopefully sooner rather than later the Shas Party will turf him out. Shas is an honorable party and its voters deserve better than a convict at its head.
i wonder if this is deri playing for labor to lead a coalition which he would happy to be a party of
but hey, this is what shas voters wanted (a wolf in sheeps clothing)
Re comment no. 2: I am sure that Mr. Deri is trying to get on the “winning team,” but there is no winning team yet, and as far as I know, no reliable head count of how many MK’s have agreed to join the Likud/Netanyahu coalition. Keep in and needs a total of 61 to “win” the election. It is conceivable, but not likely, that Likud might not form a government, and Mr. Netanyahu’s run as PM would be over.
How Mr. Deri could still be the head of a religious party after his criminal conviction is one of the wonders of Israeli politics.
Good for Deri! Netanyahu absolutely needs him! He has no alternative. Now is the time when you have the political capital to do for your voters what promised. Stand by your convictions, and you can make millions of the poorest breathe easier.
There only one thing worse when having negotiations with one israeli….and that’s having it with two….the only way shas will get what they want and the frum community what they need is by having a criminal on their side cuz that’s the only way to deal here….it’s never smart to put 1 jew in power and now you have a whole country of jews in power.