Party Endorses Prime Minister, Denounces “Severe Incitement” Against Torah Learners
Shas formally recommended Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday evening to form Israel’s next government, honoring its pre-election commitment despite a disappointing election performance and growing uncertainty over the future of the country’s governing coalition.
During the consultations at the President’s Residence, senior Shas representatives delivered a forceful defense of the chareidi community and yeshiva bochurim, accusing political opponents of conducting a campaign of incitement and misrepresenting the community’s position on military conscription.
The Shas delegation consisted of MKs Michael Malkieli, Yinon Azulai, Yoav Ben Tzur, Chaim Biton, and Dror Amos.
Speaking before President Herzog, Malkieli emphasized that Shas was fulfilling the promise it made to voters during the election campaign.
“Shas is a party that keeps its promises. We promised that we would recommend Bibi, and that is exactly what we are doing,” Malkieli declared.
He acknowledged the party’s electoral losses while accusing its political opponents of targeting Shas with a particularly harsh campaign.
“We experienced a decline in seats, and we endured very severe incitement specifically directed against Shas. We did not fight back against the false incitement in real time,” he said.
The Shas representatives also addressed the controversy surrounding legislation to regulate the military service status of yeshiva students, an issue that has dominated Israeli political discussions and created significant tensions between the chareidi parties and other political factions.
MK Yinon Azulai, who was assigned responsibility for the draft legislation by the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah, described the hostility he encountered while working on the issue.
“The Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah entrusted me with the issue of the draft law, and I was subjected to severe violence,” Azulai said.
He accused opponents of deliberately distorting the chareidi community’s position and creating a misleading public narrative about its attitude toward military service.
“There was manipulation of public consciousness regarding the entire issue of the chareidi community. They thought we were saying, ‘We will die rather than enlist.’ That is absolutely not our approach. But first and foremost, the value of Toras Yisroel must be recognized,” Azulai said.
The remarks reflected the frustration within Shas over the public debate surrounding the draft law, which party leaders have argued has frequently portrayed Torah learners unfairly and failed to recognize the central importance of limud haTorah to the Jewish people.
The party’s endorsement of Netanyahu comes at a politically sensitive moment, with the prime minister attempting to secure sufficient recommendations to receive the presidential mandate to form a government.
While Shas has maintained its support for Netanyahu, the main factions of United Torah Judaism have announced that they will not recommend any candidate at this stage, following instructions from their rabbinic leadership.
That decision has complicated Netanyahu’s efforts to consolidate the support of the chareidi parties and has highlighted differences in their approaches to the post-election negotiations.
That meeting included a sharp exchange between Herzog and Minister Orit Strock over the legitimacy of Arab political parties as potential coalition partners.
Religious Zionism representatives argued that Arab nationalist parties should not be considered legitimate partners in the process of forming a government, citing their political positions and descriptions of Israel’s establishment as the “Nakba.”
Herzog challenged Strock over the distinction between rejecting political cooperation with Arab parties and discriminating against Arab citizens.
“How do you distinguish between racism and what you are saying about not sitting with Arabs?” Herzog asked.
Strock responded, “I think reality has made the distinction.”
Herzog pushed back against the broad characterization of Arab political participation, pointing to Yoav Segalovitz, the second-ranking candidate on the Ra’am list, who previously held a senior position in the Israel Police and served in a combat role.
“We need to understand that we live with Arab citizens in Israel. This generalization bothers me very much,” Herzog said.
The exchange illustrated the deep divisions among Israel’s political parties as they seek to influence the formation of the next government.
