Shas MK Uriel Busso Defends Draft Stance and Criticizes State Breach
MK Uriel Busso defended Shas leader Aryeh Deri's stance on ultra-Orthodox conscription, asserting that the state breached its 70-year agreement with the Torah world. Busso expressed confidence in Shas securing double-digit seats in the 2026 elections.
MK Uriel Busso of Shas, a former health minister, addressed the ultra-Orthodox conscription controversy and party leader Aryeh Deri's remarks regarding his grandchildren who are classified as draft evaders. Speaking on 103fm ahead of the 2026 elections, Busso argued that the state had breached its foundational agreement with the Torah world, and vowed that Shas would regularize the status of yeshiva students at the start of the next parliamentary term.
Addressing the latest poll numbers and projections for Shas, Busso expressed confidence that his faction would secure a double-digit mandate count in the upcoming elections, dismissing predictions of a decline. He claimed that left-wing organizations had invested heavily in campaigns against Shas and the ultra-Orthodox public over the past four years.
"Aryeh Deri has maintained from the outset that those who study Torah must continue to study, and they cannot be treated like criminals on the street, whereas those who do not study must perform military service," Busso explained, defending Deri's comments about his grandchildren. "If you want to alter the contract that the State of Israel has maintained with the Torah world for 70 years, that is another matter, but the state broke that contract."
Busso also highlighted his own extensive military service as an officer and noted that members of his immediate family serve in significant combat roles, emphasizing that the Jewish people value the combination of Torah study and national tradition established by David Ben-Gurion decades ago. He cautioned against right-wing fragmentation in the upcoming elections, warning that new splinter parties risk harming the right-wing bloc while the left remains politically organized.
Concluding with regard to political alliances, Busso underscored that Shas's enduring partnership with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rooted in shared ideological goals rather than blind loyalty. He emphasized that the coalition has consistently worked together to block progressive legislation that threatens the Jewish identity of the state.
