MK Yaakov Margi, who is set to leave the Knesset after 24 years when the new parliament is sworn in, sharply criticized his party's leadership in an interview with i24NEWS.
"Ever since Rabbi Ovadia Yosef passed away, I, Yaakov Margi, felt that we lacked the backing we needed on the military draft law. At a certain point, I was asked not to speak out. I angered the extremists, and I'm not afraid of them," Margi said.
He noted that Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef's remarks urging people to throw military draft notices into the toilet had angered many Israelis.
"That outraged people. They haven't forgiven that statement."
According to Margi, "The party sent us to secure a military draft law. We're doing what needs to be done, but then I'm asked to speak as though I belong to the extremist Jerusalem Faction. The general public is angry, and rightly so. You cannot simply accept extreme or out-of-touch statements."
Addressing demonstrations by the Jerusalem Faction, Margi said, "Many of them were not Torah scholars. I didn't hear leaders speaking out against them and condemning their actions as contrary to the Torah's teachings. There were disgraceful scenes at intersections. Is that how Torah scholars behave?"
The outgoing MK said he was not surprised by Shas's poor election performance, but warned that the party could collapse if Aryeh Deri resigned now.
"I knew there would be a decline and that the party would suffer. The public was disappointed. Shas blurred its identity. Deri had good intentions, and you can't judge him. Telling Deri to resign today would mean shutting down the party."