Eli Yishai
Eli YishaiEdi Israel/Flash 90

Forces in the Shas sephardic political party are trying to pave the way for former chairman Eli Yishai’s return to the party.

According to a report in Yisrael Hayom, a meeting was recently held between Eli Yishai and one of the rabbis of the Council of Torah Sages, the rabbinic body that provides guidance to the Shas party, at Yeshivat Kissei Rachamim in Bnei Brak. This meeting examined the possibility of uniting the party of Eli Yishai, Yachad, with the Shas party and explored the idea of having the two parties run on a joint list without uniting.

The process is meant to ensure that both parties would pass the threshold during elections. This is in light of recent surveys which place the parties around or below the threshold.

The more realistic intention is to allow Yishai's party to contend without being under the authority of Minister Aryeh Deri or the Council of Torah Sages and allow it to preserve its independence as a party under the authority of Rabbi Meir Mazuz, head of Yeshivat Kissei Rachamim.

It should be noted that Minister Aryeh Deri himself, who leads Shas, is conveying messages that he is absolutely opposed to any move that brings Yishai back to Shas, even in an artificial way.