Former Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef Urges Followers Not to Vote for Shas, Calls to Oppose Right-Wing Bloc

Former Chief Rabbi and member of Shas' Council of Torah Sages, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, has reportedly urged his followers and close associates not to vote for Shas in the upcoming elections. According to a report by Aharon Rabinovitch in Haaretz on Wednesday, based on conversations with Yosef's students and Shas sources, Yosef believes that the ultra-Orthodox community should work to topple the right-wing bloc. One of his notable statements criticized the Religious Zionist camp and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming they dislike the ultra-Orthodox public, while the left respects religion and primarily seeks power, making cooperation with them possible.

Yosef reportedly argues that after the failure to pass a law addressing yeshiva students' exemptions from military service, there is no longer any benefit for the ultra-Orthodox in an automatic alliance with the right. A Shas insider told Haaretz that a non-right-wing government might enable progress on the conscription issue. This dispute coincides with a severe internal conflict within Shas leadership, particularly between Yosef and party chairman Aryeh Deri. The tension involves disagreements over the conscription law, party leadership, and the composition of the Council of Torah Sages. Yosef has long awaited appointment as council president, which Deri strongly opposes.

Criticism from Yosef's circle also targets the growing influence of rabbis aligned with the Lithuanian (Litvish) faction within Shas, especially Rabbi Avraham Salim, whom they see as diverging from Shas' original Sephardic path and the legacy of Yosef's father, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The rift has spilled into public events, with harsh chants against Deri reportedly made with Yosef's knowledge and consent. This is not the first time Yosef has publicly diverged from the party line; last month, he praised former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and expressed hope that Yahadut HaTorah might join efforts to support Eizenkot for prime minister.

If accurate, these statements represent a significant challenge to the longstanding political alliance between Shas and the right-wing bloc, particularly its ties with the Religious Zionist public, whom Yosef reportedly grouped with Netanyahu as adversaries. However, Yosef's office issued a strong denial to Haaretz, calling the reports "completely fabricated" and accusing internal party figures of spreading falsehoods to sow division. Shas also rejected the report, protesting the damage to Yosef's honor and emphasizing his repeated clear support for Shas and the party's commitment to the right-wing bloc and opposition to a left-wing government.