Shas Knesset Candidate Faces Challenge Over Public Service Role

The "Atid" organization has filed a petition with the Central Elections Committee chairman demanding the disqualification of Amos Dror, who is slated to run for Knesset in the sixth position on the Shas party list. The petition argues that Dror, currently serving as the supervisor of the Religious Council in Haifa, has not resigned from his public office as required by law.

According to the petition, Dror holds a senior public and executive position with broad authority. Israeli law mandates that senior public officials in the top four tiers must fully resign at least 100 days before election day. "Atid" claims Dror has not met this requirement and continues to actively hold his position and exercise its powers.

In parallel with the petition to the Elections Committee, "Atid" sent an urgent request to the legal advisor of the Ministry of Religious Services, demanding Dror's immediate suspension and unpaid leave. The organization asserts that a public servant's tenure must cease upon the submission of their name to a Knesset candidate list. Furthermore, the law prohibits public servants from engaging in election campaigning, making it impossible for someone to actively manage a party list campaign while holding a public role.

Rabbi Shaul Farber, chairman and founder of "Atid," stated that religious services in Israel belong to the entire public, not to any party apparatus, and that turning a state system into a political springboard erodes public trust. Attorney Yair Meborach Shag from the organization's legal department added that a public servant cannot manage religious services in the morning and solicit votes in the evening, and that the 100-day resignation rule was enacted precisely to prevent this improper conflation.