Eli Yishai
Eli YishaiHadas Parush/Flashh 90

Former Shas leader Eli Yishai said that he was open to merging his Yahad party and rejoining Shas in order to restore haredi unity Thursday.

"We are not interested in a dispute," he told Kol Berama Radio. "We are interested in doing the merger in order to save the world of the Torah and Torah Judaism."

He compared the proposed merger with the Shas party with previous mergers which resulted in the current United Torah Judaism, Zionist Union, and Jewish Home parties.

Yishai reiterated that in the framework of such a union, Shas could see a sharp increase in the number of Knesset seats it receives in the next election: "We will examine what each person can bring and find the solution of how to conduct the merger through polling."

"In the end, it's a note from Shas. If we do this, then I give up [my political ambitions]. That is what a conservative person would tell me. I do not want anything for myself. I am willing to give up everything on a personal level.

Yishai said that current Shas leader Aryeh Deri had planned to establish a party similar to the Yahad party in the past. "Aryeh Deri was interviewed after submitting the lists and said that if he did not return to Shas, he would establish a new party to bring in new constituencies," he replied.