MK Yinon Azoulay, chairman of the Shas parliamentary faction, clarified on Sunday evening his party's non-negotiable precondition for joining the next government, while issuing harsh criticism against the judiciary and ruling out political partnerships with opposition elements.
Opening his remarks, Azoulay addressed the collapse of the temporary draft-exemption legislation and the broader issue of yeshiva student enlistment, emphasizing that Shas will no longer settle for stopgap measures.
"We are stating this as clearly as possible: there will be no temporary, band-aid bill-period," Azoulay declared in an interview with Radio Kol Chai. "We are not looking for temporary fixes. We intend to permanently regulate the status of Torah scholars once and for all, immediately following the elections.
"This is an absolute condition for any coalition we join. For anyone sitting and studying Torah, our duty is to ensure they can dedicate themselves to their studies without harassment. We will take the IDF's needs into account as appropriate, but temporary workarounds are completely off the table for us."
He added, "This time, we are entering the start of the term having learned from past mistakes. We will pass the override clause and all necessary legislation to prevent the Supreme Court from summarily striking down these laws. The public speaks at the ballot box, and it is our obligation to carry out their will rather than surrender to the courts."
Azoulay went on to flatly reject any potential political partnership with Gadi Eisenkot's faction, pointing to the inclusion of figures hostile to the haredi community: "How can anyone talk about allying with parties like Eisenkot's when his slate includes Elazar Stern, who consistently speaks out harshly against the haredi public? We've seen outrageous statements from him just recently."