Bayit Yehudi is still working to obtain a foothold in the Ministry of Religious Services, which was given to Shas. Ironically, none of the Shas faction members are interested in serving as Minister of Religious Services.

Bayit Yehudi is now offering Shas to switch, to permit Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan to continue serving as Deputy Minister of Religious Services and in exchange, Shas will appoint a Deputy Defense Minister, the position which Ben-Dahan is supposed to fill.

It is unlikely that Shas wants Bayit Yehudi to become mixed in the running of the ministry but with the refusal of party members to take the ministerial position, it may lead to a compromise with the dati leumi party.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)