Shas Prioritizes Deal with Netanyahu, Signals Support for Communication Law Amid Religious Concerns

Shas is expected to shift its stance and support the flagship Communication Law proposed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, aimed at reforming Israel's television market. This change follows a letter from Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the spiritual leader of Shas, to party chairman Aryeh Deri, emphasizing that the political deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes precedence. Yosef instructed Deri that Shas will vote in favor of legislation important to Likud in exchange for advancing laws the party seeks, including the Basic Law on Torah Study, a law preventing the arrest of draft dodgers, and kosher food regulations.

The deal, first revealed by ynet, did not explicitly mention the Communication Law, but it suggests that if Shas does not support it, Likud may withhold cooperation on other legislative priorities. Shas and its ultra-Orthodox allies have already backed the bill to establish a political inquiry committee into the October 7 massacre and support splitting the Attorney General's role, which is expected to pass its second and third readings soon.

Rabbi Yosef stressed urgency in passing the Torah Study law and insisted on supporting the current kosher law text to protect religious dietary standards. He urged Deri to promptly negotiate with government authorities to ensure these priorities are met. Karhi's Communication Law would allow new news channels to operate with minimal regulation, eliminate the separation between channel owners and news companies, and create a government app offering free access to all news channels. Content providers like HOT, Yes, and Partner would be required to include these news channels.

However, the ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism opposes the law, citing concerns that the government app would operate on Shabbat and might feature immodest content conflicting with their values. Former Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf and MK Moshe Gafni have also voiced opposition. Shas initially stated it could not support the law because its requested amendments to protect religious values were not included. Nevertheless, Shas urged Minister Karhi to split the bill and bring only the regulatory relief sections for a vote, which they would support.

Following these demands, Karhi announced he would accept amendments proposed by MK Avi Maoz to prevent harm to religious values and called on Shas and United Torah Judaism to back the right-wing media reform. The political deal underscores Shas's strategy to prioritize its legislative agenda through cooperation with Netanyahu's government despite internal reservations about the Communication Law.