Former minister Shlomo Benizri has launched a scathing attack on Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, blaming him for the party's failures and expressing concern that Shas may fail to cross the electoral threshold in the next election.
In an interview with Kan Reshet Bet, Benizri argued that the crisis within the party goes far beyond the question of Deri's political future, and that the root of the problem is a loss of confidence in the spiritual leadership and the way decisions are being made.
"He doesn't understand Shas's problem. The problem isn't whether he will be a Knesset member or not," Benizri said of Deri. "Shas wants spiritual leadership, a Council of Torah Sages that functions rather than simply being briefed, that sits down and makes decisions. The public voted for a Council of Torah Sages that would make the decisions so that the politicians would carry them out. Today, the public understands that Aryeh Deri makes the decisions and then reports to the rabbis. That's why the public is angry."
One of the strongest warnings Benizri issued concerned Shas's electoral future. He said that in conversations with yeshiva students, he had heard harsh criticism of the party's conduct, adding that these were not isolated complaints but concerns he had been hearing for some time.
"My fear is that Shas will fail to cross the electoral threshold in the next election," he said. "Yesterday, I spoke with yeshiva students, and they said exactly that. I've been hearing this for a long time."
Alongside his criticism, Benizri acknowledged Deri's political abilities but argued that his leadership and experience were not helping him identify the main source of public anger.
"Aryeh Deri is talented, a phenomenon, but he doesn't understand the central problem. Why doesn't he get it?" he asked.
He later clarified that he was not making Deri's resignation a condition for resolving the crisis.
"You want to stay? Stay. But solve the problem: the public wants spiritual leadership that makes the decisions, not politicians," he said.
Another part of Benizri's remarks focused on Shas's record in the previous government. The former minister argued that despite the favorable political makeup of the coalition from the haredi parties' perspective, Shas had failed to achieve its main objectives.
"We were part of the strongest right-wing government Israel has had since its establishment. It was our dream government, one in which we could have achieved the most remarkable accomplishments imaginable. We achieved nothing. The previous government was very successful in terms of security, but when it came to Shas, we lost almost everything," he said.
According to Benizri, Deri's positions and participation in various government forums do not address the problems being raised by the party's voters.
"Who cares whether Deri is on this or that cabinet? The public is crying out from the ground. That's why he said he had decided to leave the Knesset and go out into the field."
The former minister also criticized Deri for failing to take responsibility as party chairman. He argued that, given the results and the difficulties facing Shas, Deri should have acknowledged the failures and apologized.
"There's been such a huge, colossal failure, and I haven't heard him apologize. If you don't understand the problem, something very serious is happening here," he said.
"When a leader doesn't understand that he is the problem, that's a bad situation. Don't want to resign? Then don't. But understand that you work for the Council of Torah Sages."