Shas Candidate Amos Dror Faces Challenge Over Election Law Compliance

The "Atid" organization has filed a petition with the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee demanding the disqualification of Amos Dror, who is slated to run in the sixth position on the Shas party list. The organization alleges that Dror, who currently serves as the supervisor of the Religious Council in Haifa, failed to resign from his position 100 days prior to the elections, as required by law.

Atid argues that Dror's role as supervisor of the Religious Council is a senior executive public position, and he continues to hold this post and its authorities even after being placed on the Shas Knesset (parliament) slate. The petition cites sections of the Basic Law: The Knesset and the Election Law, which purportedly mandate that senior public officials in the top four tiers must resign at least 100 days before election day.

In parallel, Atid has requested the legal advisor of the Ministry of Religious Services to immediately suspend Dror and place him on unpaid leave. The organization contends that regulations require the cessation of a public servant's employment upon their inclusion in a Knesset candidate list and prohibit public employees from participating in election campaigning.

Rabbi Shaul Farber, chairman and founder of Atid, stated that religious services should remain state-run and separate from political activities, asserting that using religious services for political advancement erodes public trust in religious institutions. Attorney Yair Meborach Shag from Atid's legal department added that active service in a public role is incompatible with running on a party list, emphasizing that the cooling-off period is designed to prevent the conflation of public service and political activity.

Dror, a reservist Major, served over 25 years in the IDF's Logistics Corps. After his military service, he engaged in public and social activities, founding and chairing the "Hesed Hayim Ve'emet" association, which supports bereaved families. For the past year and a half, Dror has served on the Haifa Religious Council and recently joined Shas. Atid is now asking the Elections Committee chairman to rule that Dror's candidacy is invalid due to his alleged failure to complete the required cooling-off period.