Shas party spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef cancelled a planned meeting last night with representatives of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon - although Sharon\'s aides later claimed that it was he who called it off. This is the latest development in the ongoing political drama that began with the defeat on Monday of the government’s emergency economic package. (The bill was passed two days later.) A last-minute personal letter from Rabbi Yosef to the Prime Minister requesting a retraction of the dismissals, expressing a desire for compromise, and reminding Sharon of the historic collaboration between Shas and the Likud, went unanswered until after the firings went into effect. The Shas ministers, who were fired after voting against the government\'s stand and against the bill, will be allowed to return only if they agree to support the package, Sharon confidantes said yesterday. A meeting between Rabbi Yosef and three of Sharon\'s top aides was scheduled for last night - but then something else happened:
The Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, Avigdor Yitzchaki, told an Army Radio interviewer that the firings of the Shas ministers were not in order to ensure that government ministers never vote against the government - but to ensure that the next day\'s headlines did not feature the defeat of the economic package. Such headlines, Yitzchaki said he told Sharon, would have led to a collapse of the capital markets and therefore had to be avoided. Yitzchaki said that they were happy to enjoy the consequential political benefits from the firings, but that these were not planned. Shas chairman Eli Yeshai said that Yitzchaki’s statement was \"unquestionably very grave.\" Prime Minister Sharon denied that this was his reasoning, reprimanded Yitzchaki for his comments, and sent a 6-page letter to Rabbi Yosef explaining why he had to fire the Shas ministers. Sharon concluded his letter with the hope that the split between him and Shas could be mended.
Deputy Minister Yuli Edelstein (Yisrael B\'Aliyah) said, “The exit of Shas from the government is a very good thing… For the first time in 20 years a Prime Minister has taken serious measures. One must know that life goes on even after Shas.” In any case, Edelstein is of the opinion that Shas will return to the coalition after an appropriate cooling-off period, “but by then, everything will be different.”
The Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, Avigdor Yitzchaki, told an Army Radio interviewer that the firings of the Shas ministers were not in order to ensure that government ministers never vote against the government - but to ensure that the next day\'s headlines did not feature the defeat of the economic package. Such headlines, Yitzchaki said he told Sharon, would have led to a collapse of the capital markets and therefore had to be avoided. Yitzchaki said that they were happy to enjoy the consequential political benefits from the firings, but that these were not planned. Shas chairman Eli Yeshai said that Yitzchaki’s statement was \"unquestionably very grave.\" Prime Minister Sharon denied that this was his reasoning, reprimanded Yitzchaki for his comments, and sent a 6-page letter to Rabbi Yosef explaining why he had to fire the Shas ministers. Sharon concluded his letter with the hope that the split between him and Shas could be mended.
Deputy Minister Yuli Edelstein (Yisrael B\'Aliyah) said, “The exit of Shas from the government is a very good thing… For the first time in 20 years a Prime Minister has taken serious measures. One must know that life goes on even after Shas.” In any case, Edelstein is of the opinion that Shas will return to the coalition after an appropriate cooling-off period, “but by then, everything will be different.”