The Sephardic haredi-religious Shas party is holding a conference this Thursday with the participation of rabbis and representatives in the Knesset and various cities, focusing on preparations for the local elections, which are expected this fall.
Party chairman Aryeh Deri is marking the conquest of the cities of Beit Shemesh, Elad, Rechasim and Emmanuel as the main targets. He was cited by a newspaper as saying, "We will not give up any place where we can succeed. Everywhere we are acting in a realistic way. Where we can get a chairmanship [or mayor's office -ed], we'll run for a chairmanship," saying the same thing about the position of vice-mayor.