Recordings Reveal Near Call by Rabbi Yosef Against Shas Party

Recordings have surfaced suggesting a deep rift within the Shas party, specifically between leader Aryeh Deri and Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, threatening to split the party. A meeting held two weeks prior, intended to foster reconciliation, is now understood through these recordings to have been a complex maneuver. Rabbi Moshe Maya, a senior figure in the Council of Torah Sages, is heard in one recording stating that he did not write the reconciliation letter presented to Rabbi Yosef by Deri, but merely signed it, with Deri's associates drafting the content. Maya also revealed he had to remove sentences from the original letter concerning Rabbi Yosef's leadership and the subservience of Shas representatives to him, noting that the full letter was never publicly seen.

Further recordings indicate that there was an intention to crown Rabbi Yosef, a move Maya suggests was designed to prevent him from calling on the public not to vote for Shas. Maya stated that Rabbi Yosef was prepared to explicitly instruct people against voting for the party. These revelations contradict recent denials by Shas officials regarding the severity of the internal dispute, with Maya openly discussing the tension, the leadership issue, and the fear of Rabbi Yosef's potential directive against the party.

Despite the internal conflict, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has since appeared at a Shas event, leading to perceptions within the Haredi community that he has rejoined the party and regained a significant spiritual leadership role. For voters angered by the party over the past year due to the controversy surrounding Rabbi Yosef, his perceived return could be decisive in potentially bringing them back to support Shas.