Former Shas chairman Eli Yishai considers returning to politics
After more than a decade, the former Interior Minister is considering running for the Knesset with the "Haredi Public" party. The party says it will support enlistment, and in a letter to the leaders of the Haredi parties, they criticized their hawkish line: "Continued confrontation puts the future of the Haredi public at risk."
Eli Yishai, former Interior Minister and former Shas chairman, is considering returning to politics, this time with the "Haredi Public" party - which claims to represent working Haredim and supports the real enlistment of young people who are not studying. Following the report on the contacts, ynet now reveals documentation from the meeting.
After his ouster as Shas chairman, Yishai founded the "Yachad" party in 2014, but did not pass the electoral threshold in the 20th Knesset elections. Now, after more than a decade, Yishai is conducting serious negotiations with the new Haredi party "Haredi Public". The party intends to appeal, among others, to disappointed Shas voters, and several meetings have been held between the parties.
Yesterday, the Haredi Public faction sent a letter to the leaders of the Haredi parties demanding answers regarding the demand for representation. In the letter, sent by faction chairman Moti Leitner to Aryeh Deri, Moshe Gafni, and Yitzhak Goldknopf, he criticized the "continued confrontation" with large parts of the Israeli public, which he says puts the future of the Haredi public at risk.
"It is a time of trouble for Jacob - and the threat to the future of the Haredi public in the Land of Israel requires coming to our senses. We, the representatives of the 'Haredi Public' faction, have approached you in recent months time and again in an attempt to hold a real dialogue. We did so out of a deep sense of responsibility for the fate of the Haredi public, and out of the understanding that tens of thousands of Haredim feel that they are not receiving an answer to their needs and are not receiving proper representation. Many of them even declare that they will not vote in the upcoming elections, or will choose non-Haredi parties. At the same time, the feeling is growing that continued confrontation with large parts of the people of Israel endangers the future of the entire Haredi public, and its ability to ensure its status and its path in the State of Israel for years to come. However, unfortunately, instead of responding to the simple and just call for representation, you chose to ignore it. And when you understood that we do not intend to give up, instead of sitting together, listening, and finding a solution - you chose to respond with contempt and baseless smears. We clarify unequivocally: our demand is not merely a political demand, but a public and value-based demand."
