Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri Vows Soul-Searching After Election Blow
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri spoke for the first time about his party's election defeat, where they lost six seats. He rejected claims of collapse, citing unprecedented attacks and calling their survival a miracle. Deri vowed to conduct a "piercing soul-searching" and announced plans to increase his public presence to strengthen the party, framing the setback as a "descent for the sake of ascent."
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri vowed "piercing soul-searching" after the party's election losses.
- Deri rejected claims of Shas's "collapse," citing unprecedented attacks and incitement.
- The party dropped from 11 seats to six in the recent Knesset elections.
- Deri called the party's survival a "miracle" and emphasized its internal unity.
- He plans to increase his public presence to strengthen Shas nationwide.
- Deri framed the electoral setback as a "descent for the sake of ascent."
Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri addressed his party's significant electoral losses for the first time since the elections for the 26th Knesset, where the party dropped from 11 seats to just six. Speaking at a special faction meeting, Deri acknowledged the difficult results but rejected claims of the party's "collapse," attributing the outcome to unprecedented attacks against Shas and its leadership over the past three years. He stated that "300,000 people said yes to the Council of Torah Sages' call and were not tempted by the crazy incitement campaign against us." Deri described the recent period as a "war" during which Shas maintained its quiet and responsibility, yet was targeted, with attempts even made to "split our spiritual leadership." He noted that experts had told him they didn't believe the party could survive such a campaign, calling its survival a "miracle."
Despite the electoral decline, Deri emphasized that Shas had maintained internal unity, a rarity in Israeli politics, preserving a single spiritual leadership, a single political leadership, a unified Knesset faction, and united representatives in local authorities. He thanked the Council of Torah Sages and thousands of activists for their dedicated work during the election campaign, stating their efforts were not in vain and that the party would justify the trust placed in them. Deri asserted that 300,000 votes do not constitute a collapse, recalling Shas's history of overcoming crises, including the loss of its leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and its ability to rise and fall, starting with four seats and reaching 17 at its peak.
Looking ahead, Deri pledged to conduct a "piercing soul-searching" and draw deep lessons from the election results, framing the current situation as a "descent for the sake of ascent." He announced plans to strengthen the movement by increasing his own presence on the ground, intending to tour the country twice or three times a week to hold work meetings and bolster the party's standing.
