Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri appointed Nati Chayik (חייק) to serve as a member of the council and chairman of the Shas faction in the city of Haifa. However, it is possible that due to differences of opinion within the local faction, Deri will perform another division, so that Chayik will accept the position of paid deputy of the party and another council member will become chairman of the faction.

Chayik, who is currently a member of the Rechasim Council and a close aide to the chairman of the Knesset Education Committee, MK Yaakov Margi, is considered one of the most prominent young activists in Shas.

In recent years, Chayik has been handling the issue of non-admission of Sephardi girls to educational institutions.

In addition, last month Deri proposed to impeach the head of the Emanuel Council, with the possibility of appointing Chayik as chairman of Rechasim, but Chayik refused because of personal circumstances. Deri decided that he would serve in the senior position in Haifa.

It should be noted that the city of Haifa is currently in the eye of the storm as Degel Hatorah wants to oust the current mayor, Yona Yahav, while Shas has yet to make a decision on the issue.

Because of the fact that this is a ‘complex’ city, Deri placed the responsibility for running the elections in Haifa on the director general of Shas, Chaim Biton and Shas leader Ami Iluz.

Nati Chayik said in response: “I am happy with the choice of the chairman of the movement to appoint me to lead. Since I married, I have volunteered for everything the movement asks me to do. Now that they’ve given me the job in Haifa, I’ll do it happily. Thank you for the trust they gave me.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)