Shas Party Challenges Attorney General's Decision to Postpone Memorial Event

The Shas party has filed an urgent appeal to the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, protesting Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara's decision to postpone a state memorial event for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef until after the upcoming elections. Shas argues that the Attorney General's directive contradicts a Knesset law that established the date for the event.

In their appeal, filed by attorney Guy Busi, Shas described the decision as "exceptional, sweeping, and disproportionate," asserting that the Knesset's mandate for the event cannot be overridden by the Attorney General. They emphasized that the memorial was intended to honor Rabbi Yosef's legacy, which they stated does not belong solely to Shas, and that the Knesset itself recognized his importance to the State of Israel.

Shas contended that the Attorney General's office was informed that the event would not include election propaganda, campaign calls, or party symbols, and that measures were proposed to prevent any such concerns. The party questioned whether the Attorney General would have dared to postpone a memorial for Yitzhak Rabin due to his political affiliations, arguing that state commemorations should not erase a person's political biography.

The party further argued that less drastic measures than outright cancellation could have been employed to prevent electioneering, comparing the Attorney General's approach to using an "axe" when a "scalpel" would suffice. Shas accused the Attorney General of consistently undermining Jewish symbols and stated that postponing Rabbi Yosef's memorial was the final straw. They expressed hope that the Elections Committee chairman would overrule the decision and restore "sanity and peace."