Shas’s Council of Torah Sages is set to hold an emergency session on Wednesday to decide the future of Aryeh Deri as party chairman, after he asked to step down following the party’s historic collapse in last week’s election.
Deri submitted a letter of resignation as head of the movement on Wednesday morning. The council is expected to tell him he may not step down.
The decision to convene was made by the council’s elder, Rabbi Moshe Maya, and Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef. Council members then held a conference call with Deri and asked him to appear before them and hear their position that he is not permitted to resign. Deri agreed to attend and asked for the chance to present his reasons.
The meeting will take place at a private home in Jerusalem belonging to someone close to the rabbis, rather than at Shas offices, so as not to disrupt the process.
Shas won just six seats in the election for the 26th Knesset, a historic low and down from 11 in the outgoing Knesset. Deri has not been seen in public since the results came in. Hebrew media reports say he is weighing several options, including resigning from the Knesset while staying on as party chairman from outside it. Srugim reported Wednesday that this is the likely outcome.
The scenario echoes 2014, when Deri tendered his resignation after a leaked video showed the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef harshly criticizing him. The council rejected that resignation, and Deri remained chairman.
