Shas MK and Deri's Wife Address Jerusalem Religious Council Event
MK Michael Malkieli and Yaffa Deri spoke at a Jerusalem Religious Council conference, sparking allegations from Yisrael Beytenu that Shas used public funds for election campaigning.
Knesset Member Michael Malkieli (Shas) and Yaffa Deri, wife of party leader Aryeh Deri, addressed a professional conference organized by the Jerusalem Religious Council. The speaker lineup has raised suspicions that the Shas party, which no longer holds the religious services portfolio, utilized the public event for election campaigning.
Attorney Batya Kahana-Dror of the Yisrael Beytenu party sent a formal letter to the head of the Religious Council, demanding the removal of promotional materials funded by public taxpayers. She is now petitioning the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Justice Noam Sohlberg, seeking an injunction against the Religious Council for allegedly "using its resources to promote Shas."
The Ministry of Religious Services responded to the allegations:
"The conference in question was a purely professional event. No calls to vote were made. Out of an abundance of caution and to prevent any appearance of impropriety during this sensitive period, the Director-General of the Ministry of Religious Services instructed the removal of all publications and videos distributed on the digital platforms of the Religious Council."
