Shas chairman Aryeh Deri on Thursday unveiled a new election promise under which every boy in Israel would receive a pair of tefillin and a tallis from the Education Ministry when he turns 13, five days before the October 27 Knesset election.
In a campaign video, Deri said Shas would push the program, called "Tefillin for Every Child," in the next government. The kit would be provided regardless of whether the boy's family had bought him one. Deri also pledged that Shas would require the education system to set aside a place in schools for students who wish to put on tefillin and pray during the school day. According to the statement, prayer would not be mandatory, and the space would be for students who want it.
Deri presented the plan as Shas's answer to Democrats chairman Yair Golan, who he said wants to "erase religion from the public sphere." He also cited remarks by a Tel Aviv city council member, calling the statements "harsh and shocking."
"Tefillin are the symbol of the Jewish people throughout the generations," Deri said, adding that the program would express Israel's deep connection to Judaism and tradition and would strengthen the protection of Israel's security. Citing the verse "And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they shall fear you," and the sages' teaching that it refers to the tefillin of the head, Deri said tefillin are "our spiritual strength to defeat all our enemies."
"The choice is clear," he said. "Either we strengthen the Jewish state, or we decline into a state like all the nations."
Golan responded with a campaign pledge of his own. "Here is our election promise: the state will hand every 18-year-old boy and girl a draft order," he wrote. "Everyone will get a draft order. Tefillin by choice. Enlistment as a duty."
The exchange reflects the central place of Haredi military service in the campaign, as Shas and United Torah Judaism face pressure over draft exemptions for yeshiva students.
The pledge also drew criticism from Channel 12 commentator Yaron Avraham. "I'm for tefillin, let there be no doubt, but what else is he offering?" Avraham wrote, according to Srugim. He called it an unrealistic election promise that mainly signals distress.
Deri did not say how much the program would cost or how it would be funded. A basic tefillin and tallit set typically costs several hundred dollars, and roughly 80,000 boys turn 13 in Israel each year.
