Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri addressed his party's failure in the 26th Knesset elections on Thursday, after the party's representation fell from 11 seats to just six.
At the opening of a special faction meeting at Shas headquarters, which began with the recitation of Mizmor LeTodah (A Psalm of Thanksgiving) in the presence of Knesset members and party representatives from across the country, Deri argued that despite the disappointing results, the party had managed to survive unprecedented attacks and preserve its unity.
"We must thank the Holy One, Blessed Be He, for both the bad and the good, even when we do not understand His calculations," Deri began.
"Thank God, 300,000 people said yes to the call of the Council of Torah Sages and were not swayed by the insane campaign of incitement against us over the past three years, from both within and without."
Deri claimed that throughout his many years in politics, he had never encountered an attack comparable to the one Shas had faced in recent years.
"I have been involved in these political battles for decades, and there has never been anything like this. During wartime, they exploited the restraint and responsibility we demonstrated to harm the movement and its leaders. They even tried to split our spiritual leadership," he said.
According to Deri, even political experts believed the party would struggle to survive the attacks against it.
"Experts told me they did not believe it was possible to survive such a campaign. It is truly a miracle, and for that we must thank the Holy One, Blessed Be He."
He went on to emphasize that despite Shas's decline in electoral strength, the movement had succeeded in maintaining its internal unity.
"Not only did we survive, but we preserved something that hardly exists in any other party: one spiritual leadership, one political leadership, one Knesset faction, and all our representatives in the local authorities united. This cannot be taken for granted. For all of this, we recited Mizmor LeTodah."
Deri then thanked the Council of Torah Sages and Shas activists throughout the country for their efforts during the election campaign.
"I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the Council of Torah Sages and the thousands of male and female activists across the country who worked with extraordinary dedication for the movement," he said.
"The result we achieved is with Divine assistance and thanks to their hard work and dedication. Their efforts were not in vain. With God's help, we will know how to justify the trust placed in us."
Deri also addressed criticism of the party's poor election performance, rejecting claims that Shas had collapsed.
"Those who tried to destroy the movement rushed to celebrate its 'collapse,' but 300,000 votes is not a collapse," he declared.
He recalled that the party had experienced both successes and setbacks over the years but had managed to overcome crises and continue its activities.
"We have known ups and downs. Shas is a movement built on an idea and a path. We started with four seats, reached 17, fell and rose again. We went through severe crises, lost our leader, Maran Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and faced movements that competed against us."
"Thank God, we survived it all, while other parties emerged and disappeared," he added.
Nevertheless, Deri made clear that he intends to conduct a thorough examination of the election results and draw lessons from the party's failure.
"This is a time for serious soul-searching and learning lessons, and we will do so thoroughly. Hard work lies ahead for all of us. This is a descent for the sake of a future ascent," he said.
Concluding his remarks, Deri outlined his plans to strengthen the movement in the coming period, announcing that he intends to increase his presence in communities across the country and meet with Shas activists.
"We will travel the length and breadth of the country. I plan to go out into the field two or three times a week, conduct visits and working meetings, and strengthen the movement," Deri concluded.