Shas Balances Dual Campaign on Draft Law to Appease Both Haredi and Traditional Voters

In recent weeks, the Shas party, led by Aryeh Deri, has been conducting a dual messaging campaign to address the divisive issue of the military draft law affecting yeshiva students. The party is attempting to reconcile the conflicting demands of its core ultra-Orthodox Sephardic base, which strongly opposes the draft, and its traditional, often serving, peripheral voters who support military service.

A key element of this strategy was Deri's visit last week to Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, a prominent and vocal opponent of the draft law who has previously warned that forced conscription could lead to mass emigration. This visit aimed to reassure the "Torah scholars" faction within Shas, which has criticized the party for accepting a draft outline they fear threatens yeshiva study.

Simultaneously, Shas released a campaign video featuring a Sephardic soldier to express solidarity with those serving in the Israel Defense Forces. Although the Central Elections Committee ultimately banned the video for using soldiers and uniforms in political advertising, the move was designed to appeal to the party's traditional voters who value military service and patriotism.

This dual approach highlights Shas's structural dilemma: it must maintain the support of Torah authorities and preserve the yeshiva world while also securing votes from traditional and peripheral communities that feel the burden of national defense. Unlike United Torah Judaism, Shas cannot afford to signal any openness to left-wing parties or alliances, as both its ultra-Orthodox and traditional supporters remain firmly loyal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the right-wing camp.

The effectiveness of this balancing act remains uncertain, as Shas risks alienating both sides, those who see the party as compromising Torah study and those who view it as obstructing equal military service obligations.