Shas MK Yoav Ben Tzur says his party remains firmly aligned with Israel’s right-wing bloc and sees little chance of joining a left-wing government after the upcoming elections, while declaring that passage of a law protecting the status of yeshiva bochurim will be Shas’ first condition before entering a new coalition.
Speaking Thursday evening in an interview with Avi Blum on Kol Chai’s Central Edition, Ben Tzur addressed speculation that Shas could return to its historic approach of considering partnerships with parties across the political spectrum, particularly if a different coalition offered an acceptable solution to the ongoing draft crisis affecting bnei yeshivos.
“Shas is a party that is mostly a right-wing party,” Ben Tzur said. “We are with the public and the people in the field, and the people in the field who are with us believe in the values of the right. It does not seem to me that today, in the current reality and constellation, there is any kind of chance that we would go with a left-wing government.”
Asked whether Shas would follow Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu into the opposition if the right-wing bloc fails to secure the 61 Knesset seats needed to form a government, Ben Tzur declined to make such a commitment.
He characterized that possibility as a “hypothetical situation,” saying Shas expects the election results ultimately to produce enough seats for Netanyahu and the right-wing bloc to establish the next government.
Ben Tzur also focused heavily on the draft law, which has emerged as one of the most consequential issues facing the chareidi parties ahead of the elections.
According to Ben Tzur, he understands there to be an agreement between Shas and Degel HaTorah that following the election, the two parties will work together to advance legislation establishing the status of those learning Torah. He acknowledged that the eventual legislation may fall short of what the chareidi parties originally sought but said it must nevertheless provide a workable solution to the current situation.
“I think there is an agreement between the two chareidi factions, Degel HaTorah and Shas, to definitely lead a move that will ultimately provide a solution,” Ben Tzur said. “Not the best solution that we wanted, but still a solution in order to restore fairness and reasonableness to the reality in which we find ourselves.”
Ben Tzur made clear that Shas intends to demand passage of the draft legislation before allowing the next coalition to proceed with the rest of its agenda.
“This will be the first condition. As Rabbi Aryeh Deri said – before a government is established and there is a coalition, first they will pass the draft law, and afterward the rest of the things.”
Ben Tzur also addressed recent comments by Sephardic Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchok Yosef regarding IDF soldiers and bnei yeshivos, saying the remarks reflected the same approach championed by his father, Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l.
“On the one hand, it is possible to support the yeshiva bochurim, who are our Sayeret Matkal, and on the other hand, we have tremendous appreciation and great love for the IDF soldiers who risk their lives to protect the Jewish people.”
{Matzav.com}
