Shas chairman Aryeh Deri has entered the battle over the upcoming Likud primaries, directing chareidi activists to support several candidates who have worked closely with the chareidi community during the current Knesset term.
According to sources, Deri has instructed grassroots activists within the chareidi sector to campaign on behalf of several Likud candidates ahead of the party’s internal elections. At the top of his recommended list are MK Boaz Bismuth, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and MK Chanoch Milwidsky, chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee.
Both lawmakers have earned significant appreciation among chareidi leaders and activists for their efforts on issues affecting the chareidi public throughout the current term.
As chairman of the Finance Committee, Milwidsky has played a central role in advancing budgetary and financial matters benefiting the chareidi community, including confronting legal challenges posed by the Attorney General and Israel’s High Court of Justice.
Bismuth, who heads the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, has been deeply involved in deliberations surrounding the military draft law and efforts to regulate the status of bnei yeshivos.
Deri has also included Coalition Chairman MK Ofir Katz and MK Avichai Boaron among his preferred candidates, with activists likewise encouraged to assist their campaigns in the primaries.
The directive reflects a broader strategy of rewarding Likud lawmakers who have supported the chareidi community on major legislative and policy issues during the current Knesset, with the expectation that chareidi activists who are registered Likud members will return that support at the ballot box.
The Likud primaries are scheduled for Monday, August 17, when party members will choose the party’s slate of candidates for the next Knesset election.
{Matzav.com}
