The former press advisor for the Shas Pseearty, Itzik Sudry, has taken on a paid position with Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud Party. Considered to have the ear of Shas spiritual leader of Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, Sudry is working to ensure that Shas does not join the government coalition that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is trying to form.

If Shas does not join, Livni will likely be faced with the choice of presenting a flimsy and narrow government based on her Kadima Party and Labor, or declare new elections - in which Netanyahu and his Likud party are expected to win.