After Shas lost seats in Israel’s election, its Council of Torah Sages directed party chairman Aryeh Deri to stay on, tying his leadership to the fight over Haredi military-service exemptions.
The council’s statement, carried by party-affiliated newspaper Haderech, said Shas needed experienced leadership for its fight to secure exemptions from military service for Haredi yeshiva students. Deri had asked to resign after the election, The Times of Israel reported. In a statement, Deri said he accepted the council’s decision.
The Central Elections Committee’s final allocation gave Shas six of the Knesset’s 120 seats, down from 11 in the outgoing parliament. Adding final party allocations for the right-wing and religious parties aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yields 53 seats, eight below the 61 needed for a majority. Israeli voters select party lists for the Knesset rather than choosing the prime minister directly; after the results, the president consults parliamentary groups and assigns a lawmaker to try to form a government.
The final count was below an earlier estimate. A Middle East Forum polling average updated Oct. 19 projected eight seats for Shas and put Netanyahu’s bloc at 54. EconoTimes’ coverage of the pre-election estimate also noted that the bloc was short of a majority.
The dispute over exemptions is part of a wider debate about military service. In 2024, the Supreme Court required the military to draft eligible ultra-Orthodox men, finding no law supported a broad exemption. Some reservists have complained that exemptions leave them bearing an unequal share of service, CBS News reported, in earlier coverage of the draft dispute.
The Times of Israel reported that the council was still weighing whether Deri should leave his Knesset seat. The outlet said he planned to convene Shas lawmakers Thursday.
