Shas Fears Significant Vote Leak to Otzma Yehudit, Cites Religious Ruling
Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba
The Shas party is worried about losing young, traditional voters to Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party. To counter this, Shas has enlisted Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who issued a religious ruling declaring support for Otzma Yehudit forbidden. The ruling focuses on the prohibition of ascending the Temple Mount, a practice encouraged by Ben-Gvir. Shas believes Otzma Yehudit is currently taking about two Knesset seats from their voter base, particularly in southern and central Israeli cities.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Shas fears losing young, traditional voters to Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party.
- Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef issued a religious ruling forbidding support for Otzma Yehudit.
- The ruling cites the prohibition of ascending the Temple Mount as a severe offense.
- Otzma Yehudit is estimated to be taking about two Knesset seats from Shas's voter base.
- The competition for votes is particularly intense in cities like Be'er Sheva, Ashdod, and Netanya.
The Shas party is expressing serious concern over a potential significant loss of votes to the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, particularly among young, traditional Sephardic voters in cities like Be'er Sheva, Ashdod, and Netanya. In response, Shas is leveraging religious rulings to counter this trend. The President of the Council of Torah Sages, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, has issued a religious decree, or "Kriyat Kodesh," declaring support for Otzma Yehudit forbidden according to Halakha (Jewish law).
Sources within Shas indicate that internal polls show a worrying trend of young, traditional, and Sephardic voters being drawn to Otzma Yehudit's nationalist message and strong stance against Arabs. This religious ruling is seen as Shas's most potent weapon to halt this perceived "slide." The party estimates that Otzma Yehudit is currently capturing about two Knesset seats' worth of votes from Shas's natural constituency, primarily in cities such as Netanya, Ashdod, Be'er Sheva, and Beit Shemesh.
The decree specifically targets the issue of ascending the Temple Mount, which Rabbi Yosef deems a severe transgression punishable by "karet" (a spiritual excision). He stated that individuals who encourage or participate in ascending the Temple Mount are committing this offense, and therefore, supporting their political parties is forbidden by Halakha. Otzma Yehudit's leader, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has previously stated that he views ascending the Temple Mount as a religious commandment.
While Otzma Yehudit has not yet officially responded, sources close to Ben-Gvir have reiterated his stance on the matter. Head of the Shas faction in the Knesset, Yinon Azulai, acknowledged the party's observation of young voters being "tempted" by Otzma Yehudit, possibly influenced by social media like TikTok, and expressed hope for their return to Shas.
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