Former Shas leader Yishai said to mull run with new Eisenkot-linked Haredi party

Ex-minister holds meetings with leaders of The Haredi Public in bid to capitalize on dissatisfaction among Shas voters; reports say Eisenkot associates helped shape party strategy

Former longtime Shas minister and chairman Eli Yishai is considering joining forces with a new ultra-Orthodox party, The Haredi Public, Hebrew media reported Wednesday.

The fledgling party announced its plans to participate in the upcoming election last month, saying it had been created in response to a growing “sense of disconnect” between the Haredi community and its political leadership.

At the time, The Haredi Public, led by Beit Shemesh Deputy Mayor Moti Leitner, said it represented working and new-immigrant Haredim seeking greater influence within the existing ultra-Orthodox political establishment.

While estimating that it could garner votes equivalent to around three Knesset seats – which is below the electoral threshold – if it ran independently, the party reportedly said its goal was to secure representation within the two existing major ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, which are both part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.

A joint run between Yishai and The Haredi Public is now being seriously considered, Channel 12 reported Wednesday, with several meetings having taken place recently between the party’s leadership and the former Shas leader.

The potential joint run is motivated in part by an effort to appeal to disillusioned Shas supporters, as reflected in recent election polls by several Hebrew media outlets, including Channel 12 and Maariv, which show the Sephardic Haredi party dropping from eight seats to seven.

Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party also suggested last month that his party may try to attract voters from Shas ahead of the elections, arguing, “The Sephardic Haredi public is Zionist. It was Zionist before Shas arrived and pulled it more toward the Lithuanian [non-Hasidic Askenazi] side of the map.”

Channel 12 noted that Yishai and The Haredi Public differ on several issues, most notably ultra-Orthodox military enlistment. According to Ynet, the party supports the enlistment of young Haredi men who are not engaged in full-time Torah study.

Yishai, who served as Shas chairman for 14 years, has attempted a political comeback before. After being sidelined by current party leader Aryeh Deri and leaving Shas in 2014, he founded the now-defunct Yachad party.

The Kan public broadcaster reported that close associates of Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot were involved in the early stages of establishing The Haredi Public.

According to the report, Ronen Manelis and Ronen Aviani helped develop the party’s strategic framework. Aviani allegedly expressed doubt in closed-door conversations that the party would cross the electoral threshold in the upcoming elections.

The pair were primarily involved during the party’s initial infrastructure and organizational stage, before stepping back. However, Kan reported that Aviani still acts as an occasional adviser at key junctures.

Inbar Harush Gity, a candidate on Yashar’s slate for the upcoming elections, has also reportedly been in contact with representatives from The Haredi Public.

“This is a collection of false claims,” Aviani told Kan in response to the report.

The Haredi Public similarly denied the allegations, saying, “We regret that the reporter chose to publish inaccurate information. It should be emphasized that Ronen Manelis, Ronen Aviani and Inbar Gity have never advised the faction, and any claim to the contrary amounts to serious defamation.

“The Haredi Public faction was established out of the outcry of tens of thousands of Haredim seeking representation, while remaining aligned with the right-wing bloc and camp,” the party added.