developing· Politics· Updated 07:19

Shas Party Suffers Dramatic Election Blow, Losing Traditional Support Base

The Shas party suffered a major electoral defeat in the recent Knesset elections, losing at least 100,000 votes compared to the previous election and dropping from eleven seats to potentially six or seven. The party's vote count fell from 392,964 to between 257,898 and 273,708, marking its worst electoral result in 35 years and returning it to support levels last seen in 1992. In response to the preliminary results, Shas canceled its planned post-election victory celebration in Jerusalem.

3 newsrooms · 1 language · since 28 Oct, 18:14

Plus

Shas Party Suffers Dramatic Election Blow, Losing Traditional Support Base — Illustration by baba

What happened

01Shas suffered a major electoral defeat, losing at least 100,000 votes and dropping from eleven Knesset seats to six or seven.
02The party's vote count fell from 392,964 in the previous election to between 257,898 and 273,708.
03The defeat represents Shas's worst electoral result in 35 years, returning the party to support levels last seen in 1992.
04Shas lost approximately 30,000 votes from the Haredi public and 70,000 votes from the traditionalist sector.
05Support for Shas dropped by 48.5% in Dimona, 46.3% in Netivot, 45% in Ofakim, and 15.34% in Jerusalem.
06According to Srugim, controversial statements about the IDF draft by Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef alienated traditionalist voters with family in the military.
07Shas canceled its planned post-election victory celebration in Jerusalem as the preliminary results became clear.

The decline affected both of Shas's core constituencies, with an estimated 30,000 lost votes coming from the Haredi public and 70,000 from the traditional sector. The party weakened in Haredi cities, losing voters to United Torah Judaism and Itamar Ben-Gvir's party, while also experiencing a collapse in peripheral towns and among traditional, openly religious voters. Support dropped by over 45% in peripheral cities like Dimona and Netivot, and by 15.34% in Jerusalem.

According to Srugim, the setback is attributed to late campaign efforts and controversial statements regarding the IDF draft by Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, which alienated traditionalist voters who have family members serving in the military. Despite the significant losses, party leader Arie Deri's position within Shas remains secure due to his strong control over the party's internal structure.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 3 newsrooms. Updated 07:42

Latest report: Kikar HaShabbat. Read Kikar HaShabbat’s original