Shas Party Faces Existential Crisis After Election Collapse

The Shas party is in shock following a historic electoral defeat, with its chairman, Arie Deri, leading the party to its lowest-ever result of six seats, a stark contrast to its peak of 17 mandates. Activists and voters expressed deep disappointment and pain, with many struggling to comprehend the outcome. "Everyone is still in shock, it's a huge pain for the public that did not plan for such a scenario," said activists and voters outside the party's strongholds. Senior party officials were largely reticent, with MK Yoav Ben-Tzur stating, "I am not explaining, I am not anyone's spokesperson."

Political commentator Yaakov Rivlin attributes the party's downfall to a deep rift within its voter base, exacerbated by the October 7th massacre and the contentious issue of Haredi conscription. Shas, founded in 1984 to bridge the gap between the traditional Sephardic public and the yeshiva world, found itself in a difficult position. Harsh statements from rabbis against conscription, including calls to tear up draft notices, alienated the traditional voters in the periphery. In the charged political atmosphere, these voters reportedly returned to their "original source" by voting for the Likud party.

Simultaneously, Sephardic Torah scholars, who bore the brunt of conscription orders and arrests, felt abandoned by Shas leadership, perceiving them as powerless against the system. Frustration also extended to the Likud party, with voters claiming, "Netanyahu drank our votes, the embrace with him was only for the campaign." Some even suggested a pragmatic approach, stating, "We don't owe Bibi anything. If Gadi Eisenkot brings a solution to the conscription issue, we should go with him."

While some supporters defended Deri, comparing him to a star athlete who "tried and did everything for the movement," criticism intensified. Former MK Nissim Ze'ev, a Shas founder, sharply criticized the party's leadership structure, arguing that one person should not control the entire system. He warned that at this rate, Shas might not even pass the electoral threshold, claiming tens of thousands of votes were lost because the public "simply doesn't want this leadership anymore."

With all eyes now on Deri's home in Jerusalem's Bayit Ve'gan neighborhood, where he is reportedly considering his next steps, including a potential withdrawal from political life, Shas faces an existential identity crisis that could permanently alter its future.