Pressure Mounts on Aryeh Deri as United Torah Judaism Opposes Media Weakening Bill

United Torah Judaism, representing the parties of Yaakov Litzman and Moshe Gafni, announced its opposition to the Israeli government’s media weakening bill due to the inclusion of provisions related to a government app operating on Shabbat and pornographic content, which cannot be removed from the legislation. This development complicates the position of Shas, led by Aryeh Deri, which has not yet withdrawn its support despite strong opposition from its rabbis on the same grounds.

The legal advisor to the Knesset, Shagit Afik, confirmed that the controversial clauses concerning Shabbat desecration and pornographic content must remain in the bill, as they were separated from the main text earlier in the legislative process. This ruling intensifies the dilemma for Deri, who is caught between his party’s rabbinical leadership’s objections and a political deal with Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi. The deal reportedly involves Deri’s support for the media bill in exchange for advancing a kosher certification law important to Shas, which would reverse reforms by Matan Kahana and reinstate kosher supervisors as state employees under the Chief Rabbinate.

Prominent rabbis within Shas have publicly condemned the media bill, calling it an unprecedented desecration of Shabbat. Rabbi Reuven Elbaz and Rabbi Shlomo Machpud expressed strong disapproval, warning of the spiritual damage the bill could cause. Meanwhile, United Torah Judaism leaders sharply criticized Deri’s deal, accusing him of sidelining other critical ultra-Orthodox legislative priorities such as the repeal of IDF draft arrests and a Basic Law on Torah study.

In response, Shas officials accused United Torah Judaism of spreading falsehoods and undermining efforts to protect the Torah world. Additionally, Avi Maoz, head of the Noam party, also declared his opposition to the bill, citing concerns over Shabbat desecration and the Jewish character of the state. With these developments, the coalition currently lacks a majority for the bill, holding only 60 supporters including Shas.

The bill is expected to soon proceed to its second and third readings in the Knesset plenum, with the ultra-Orthodox parties’ stances likely to play a decisive role in its fate.