Shas: We back Netanyahu, no talks with change bloc

Shas issued a pointed statement Tuesday clarifying its position after recent remarks in the political arena suggested the chareidi parties might be open to talks with the opposition change bloc.

The statement comes against the backdrop of reports on political contacts between chareidi parties and the change bloc, and after United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yaakov Asher laid out conditions for joining any government in an interview with Kikar Hashabbat.

"Following various interviews and statements heard recently, we wish to clarify again," Shas wrote. The party stressed that "on the instruction of Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, Shas recommended to the President that Benjamin Netanyahu form the government, after he committed to pass the law regulating the status of yeshiva students."

The statement makes clear the party's continued political line: "In light of this, Shas continues to support Netanyahu and is not conducting negotiations with any other party." The sharp message comes as reports circulate of feelers and offers from the change bloc toward the chareidi parties.

The statement came shortly after MK Yaakov Asher set three threshold conditions in his Kikar Hashabbat interview for joining any government: regulation of the status of yeshiva students, independence for chareidi education, and preservation of the religious status quo. Asher made clear that "without these conditions, we will not be partners. Period."

At the same time, figures in the right-wing bloc are pressuring the chareidi parties. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich published a statement calling on Matan Kahana, slated for the Knesset speaker role by the change bloc, not to accept the position. "My chareidi brothers, do not fall into this honey trap," Smotrich wrote. "They will throw you out the moment they finish using you."

According to earlier reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to reach the rabbanim directly, even offering to send emissaries to the homes of HaRav Dov Lando shlita and HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlita, but was refused. A source in the chareidi parties described the pressure from the Prime Minister's Office in one word: "hysteria."

Meanwhile, Gadi Eisenkot announced the formation of a coalition negotiating team headed by Yoav Horowitz, which will conduct contacts to form the government. According to reports, Eisenkot and Liberman agreed to first exhaust all channels of dialogue and contact with the chareidi factions in an attempt to reach understandings.

Liberman and Asher in 2019 (Photo: Yehuda Glickman)

The legal and political demands of the chareidi parties include, according to reports, a temporary order for a transition period of one to one-and-a-half years during which the general draft obligation would be frozen, deserter arrests would be cancelled, and no economic sanctions would be imposed. The central demand is to receive legal "pre-ruling", advance approval and a commitment from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and from the legal adviser to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Miri Frankel-Shor, that they will defend the framework before the High Court.

Shas's statement makes clear that the party remains faithful to the decision of Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah and its recommendation of Netanyahu, and does not intend to deviate from this line. The central question is whether United Torah Judaism will adopt a similar position, or continue to examine the various political options.