Galei Zahal (Army Radio) on Monday morning reported that former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef is not ruling out joining a government headed by Yashar! party chairman Gadi Eisenkot.
The report prompted a series of emphatic denials from Rabbi Yosef's office, which stated: "The report on Galei Zahal this morning, according to which the Rishon Lezion (a former Sephardic chief rabbi - ed.) supports one candidate or another for forming a government, or at all, is completely false."
"This is not the first time that false briefings have been circulated in the rabbi's name. It is a complete lie. All negotiation matters are conducted exclusively by the party's political leadership, which submits its recommendations to the spiritual leadership."
Rabbi Moshe Maya, the senior member of the Shas Council of Torah Sages, firmly rejected rumors of his support on Sunday evening.
"No one has spoken to me a single word about Gadi Eisenkot, and I have not spoken to anyone about the government since the results were published," he said. "People are inventing things in my name and publishing blatant lies."
Shas's political leadership recalled Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef's previous sharp criticism of Eisenkot, noting, "The rabbi previously said publicly, 'Woe betide us if Eisenkot becomes prime minister. He is behind the secularization of the military.'"
However, despite the public denials and reminders of previous statements, political observers have pointed out that no official representative of Shas' political leadership has directly denied the existence of quiet contacts with Eisenkot's associates. Shas' rabbis also have not explicitly ruled out the possibility of joining a government under his leadership.