Shas Chairman Arye Deri to Leave Knesset After Election Losses

Arye Deri, the head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, announced on Sunday that he is withdrawing from the party’s list for the upcoming 26th Knesset. Although he will no longer serve as a member of the Knesset, Deri intends to retain his role as party chairman. He plans to continue overseeing the party’s strategic direction and its ongoing coalition negotiations.

The decision follows a significant setback for the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party in the October 27 election. Shas secured only six seats, a sharp decline from the 11 seats it held in the previous Knesset. This result marks the lowest number of seats the party has achieved in more than two decades.

With Deri’s departure, MK Yinon Azoulay will assume the first slot on the party’s slate. In a public statement, Deri explained that he sought and received approval from the Council of Torah Sages to relinquish his position. He cited a desire to make way for younger representatives who have demonstrated their capabilities in parliamentary work.

Two other candidates also stepped down from the list. Dror Amos and Moshe Abutbul, who previously held the sixth and seventh positions, reportedly withdrew from the slate. This move allows the next eligible candidates, Uriel Busso and Yosef Taieb, to take their places. Amos’s departure is notable because his inclusion had signaled a strategic shift for the party, given his 25-year career in the IDF where he retired as a lieutenant colonel.

During the campaign, Shas faced criticism regarding its stance on the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF, particularly amid the military's severe manpower crisis. Deri stated on Sunday that he plans to conduct comprehensive tours across the country to strengthen ties with activists and the public. He also committed to convening the Shas faction weekly and closely monitoring legislative and committee work.

Deri expressed his intention to serve as chairman under the guidance of the party's rabbis. He stated that the goal is to restore the party's former glory and safeguard the Torah world and the Jewish identity of the State of Israel.

The announcement comes days after the Council of Torah Sages initially rejected Deri’s request to step down as party leader. The council had confirmed that while he had requested to resign, they forbade him from leaving his position in the movement. Deri stated last week that he accepted the council's directive and would remain in his post as chairman.

Internal criticism of Deri’s leadership and the party's position on military conscription is believed to have contributed to the electoral decline. Ahead of the election, Deri had pushed for legislation regulating the military service of yeshiva students as a condition for Shas's participation in any future government. Critics argued that such measures would not sufficiently address the military's reliance on reservists.

In the current political landscape, the opposition bloc has shown openness to partnering with ultra-Orthodox parties. However, Shas has not explicitly declared an intention to join that bloc and has instead recommended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next government. This stands in contrast to the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism, which abstained from recommending a candidate to President Isaac Herzog.

Deri has held various ministerial portfolios throughout his political career, including Interior, Economy, Negev and Galilee Development, and Health. In 2023, the High Court ruled that he was ineligible for the cabinet due to criminal convictions. He was previously convicted of bribery in 1999 and tax offenses in 2022.