Shas hasn't published a platform for this election. What it has published is a slogan, "I have chosen the way of faith," and a steady stream of statements about Torah study, the Jewish identity of the state, and the courts.369
Who is Shas?
Shas is running under the ballot letters shin-samekh, as "the Union of Sephardic Torah Observers, the movement of our master Rabbi Ovadia Yosef," and the list is led by Aryeh Deri.12
What has Shas published?
I looked for a platform, a מצע, and didn't find one. The party website, shas.org.il, wouldn't load for me at all, and the last archived copy is from 2022. The Israel Democracy Institute keeps an index of party platforms for this election, and Shas has no platform link there. So this episode is built from three official channels: the Shas Telegram channel, the Shas account on X, and Aryeh Deri's account on X.3413 A lot of what's posted there is about what Shas says it did in the last Knesset. I'll tell you when something is a claim about the past and when it's a statement about what they'll do next.
Shas's positions, topic by topic
The same twelve topics, in the same order, for every party. Where nothing was published, the episode says so.
What does Shas say about security and foreign policy?
I couldn't find a Shas position on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, or relations with the United States. The one security statement I found is Deri responding to a rival. On September 23 he wrote that Avigdor Liberman was proposing to hand control of Judea and Samaria to Jordan, and he called that "Disengagement 2."18 So Deri opposes that idea. That's as far as the published material goes.
What does Shas say about accountability for October 7?
I couldn't find a published position on October 7 accountability.
What does Shas say about the economy and the cost of living?
I couldn't find a proposal for the next term. What Shas posted is a list of things it says its labor minister did for reservists, like raising the minimum reserve duty payment to 300 shekels a day and extending protection from being fired.14 Those are claims about the last term, not promises.
What every party says about the economy and the cost of living
What does Shas say about housing?
I couldn't find a published position on housing.
What does Shas say about religion and state?
This is where Shas says the most.
First, Torah study. In July, the outgoing Knesset passed a law called Basic Law: Torah Study, and Shas led it.9 Deri wrote that for the first time "the Jewish state recognizes the supreme value of the holy Torah and the status of those who study it."9 A day later Deri welcomed a law to stop the arrests of yeshiva students, and called treating them as criminals an injustice that "we began to fix today."10 Shas says it will keep working to protect Torah learners.8 One campaign graphic reads "Save our students!"19 What I didn't find is a published plan on military service for Haredim for the next term. The statements are about the status of Torah study, and they don't lay out a draft policy.
Second, the Jewish identity of the state. This is the center of the campaign. When Shas launched its slogan, Deri said Shas is "the only party fighting for the Jewish identity of the State of Israel" and will keep doing it.3
Third, the Chief Rabbinate. Shas backed a state kashrut law that puts kashrut supervision back under the Chief Rabbinate, and says it will keep strengthening religious services.11 On ritual baths, their line is: "They talk about closing mikvaot; we will keep building them."12 And on kosher phones, Shas says it will keep defending "the right of every community to live according to its faith."13
On Shabbat and marriage, the one statement I found is from April 20. Naftali Bennett had said he supports public transportation on Shabbat and civil marriage, and Shas answered that anyone willing to sell "the Jewish identity of the state, the holy Shabbat and marriage according to the law of Moses and Israel" will end up selling the Land of Israel too.22 That's an answer to a rival, and it doesn't lay out a proposal. I couldn't find a published position on conversion.
What does Shas say about the judiciary and governance?
On September 16, Deri wrote that Shas is determined "to fix the justice system from the ground up and to return power to the people and its elected representatives."6 The one specific measure they name is splitting the attorney general's job into more than one role. Shas supported that bill when it passed a first reading in June, and said it will keep working "to restrain the power of the justice system."7 Deri has also written that Shas wants "a non-political justice system."8 And he framed the whole election this way: either "the rule of the attorney general," or "the legacy of Maran," meaning Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. "There is no third way."5 I didn't find a published proposal on how judges are chosen.
What does Shas say about education?
I couldn't find a published education policy. Shas did object when the High Court froze budget transfers that Shas says went to Haredi children, but that statement doesn't propose anything.21
What does Shas say about health?
I couldn't find a health policy for the next term. Shas posted a video of its former health minister describing what it calls its achievements.16
What does Shas say about social welfare, pensions and the elderly?
In July, Shas posted that the Knesset Finance Committee approved about 10 million shekels more for food baskets for families in need, from Shas coalition funds. In the same post, former welfare minister Yaakov Margi said "Shas will continue to care for the weak."15 That's a goal, with a past action attached. I couldn't find anything on pensions or the elderly.
What every party says about social welfare, pensions and the elderly
What does Shas say about Arab citizens and minorities?
I couldn't find a published position on Arab citizens or minorities.
What does Shas say about immigration, absorption and the diaspora?
On immigration, absorption, or the diaspora, I found nothing published.
What every party says about immigration, absorption and the diaspora
What does Shas say about the environment, energy and transportation?
I found no position on the environment, energy, or transportation.
What every party says about the environment, energy and transportation
What Shas puts front and center
The slogan is "I have chosen the way of faith," a line from Psalms, and Shas posted it as a billboard and a bus ad next to a photo of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.320 The other message is Torah learners and soldiers together. Shas ran a campaign video about what it calls the Shas family, and Deri reposted letters from supporters describing families with one son in yeshiva and another in the army.23 He also wrote that Shas is "the home of Torah learners and of soldiers."17
What Shas hasn't published
There's no published Shas position on October 7 accountability, housing, education, health, pensions, Arab citizens, immigration, or the environment, and no concrete security plan. On the economy and welfare, what they published is mostly a record of the last term.
Sources
Everything above comes from what Shas made public: its platform, website and official accounts, and on-the-record statements by its leaders. Each line was checked against a saved copy of its source. Most sources are in Hebrew.
- S1
- S2CEC votes26 results page, which lists the Shas list name with ballot letters "שס" (the vote counts on this page are placeholder test data and are not used)
- S3
- S4
- S5
- S6
- S7
- S8
- S9
- S10
- S11
- S12
- S13
- S14
- S15
- S16
- S17
- S18
- S19
- S20
- S21
- S22
- S23
- S24
Transcript
The words as spoken in the episode, from its captions. Select a time to listen from there.
Full transcript
Intro
Shas hasn't published a platform for this election. What it has published is a slogan, quote, I've chosen the way of faith, and a steady stream of statements about Torah study, the Jewish identity of the state, and the courts. This is Close Read, and this is a series about what Israel's parties are promising to do in their own published words, for
About this series
English-speaking voters ahead of the October 27th election. One party per episode. I only use the party itself as made public. Their platform, their website, their official accounts, and on-the-record statements by their leaders. If they didn't publish it, it doesn't count. And if they publish nothing, that's the episode. Shas is running under the ballot letters Shin Samech, as, quote, the union of Sephardic Torah observers,
Who they are
the movement of our master, Rabbi Avadia Yosef, end quote. And the list is led by R.A. Derry. I looked for a platform, and I didn't find one. The party website, shas.org.il, wouldn't
What they've published
load at all for me, and the last archived copy has been 2022. The Israel Democracy Institute keeps an index of party platforms for this election, and Shas has no platform link there. So this episode is built from three official channels. The Shas Telegram channel, the Shas account on X, and R.A. Derry's account on X. A lot of what's posted there is what Shas says it did in the last Knesset. I'll tell you when something is a claim about the past, and when it's a statement about what they will do next. I couldn't find a Shas position on Gaza, a position on Lebanon, Iran, or relations with
Security and foreign policy
the United States. The one security statement I found is R.A. Derry responding to her rival. On September 23rd, he wrote that Avigdor Lieberman was proposing to hand control of Judea and Samaria to Jordan, and he called that quote-unquote disengagement number two. So Derry opposes that idea. That's as far as the published material goes. I could not find a published position in any of the source material on a state commission on October 7th or accountability for October 7th. I couldn't find a proposal for the next term. What Shas posted is a list of things it says its labor minister did for reservists, like raising the minimum reserve duty payment to 300 shekels a day and extending protection from being fired.
Those are claims about the last term. They're not promises for the next term. I couldn't find anywhere in their published sources a position on the topic of housing. But there is an area where Shas has the most to say, and let's talk about it. First, that area is, of course, Torah study. In July, the outgoing Knesset passed a law called Basic Law, Torah Study, and Shas led the effort to pass it. Derry wrote that for the first time, quote, A day later, Derry welcomed a law to stop the arrest of yeshiva students and called treating them as criminals an injustice that, quote, Shah says we'll keep working to protect Torah learners.
One campaign graphic reads, quote, save our students, end quote. What I did not find, though, is a published plan on military service for Haredim for the next term. The statements are about the status of Torah study, and they don't lay out a draft policy of any sort. Second, the area they speak about the most is the Jewish identity of the state. This is the center of the campaign. When Shas launched its slogan, Derry said Shas is, quote, the only party fighting for the Jewish identity of the state of Israel, end quote, and we'll keep doing it. The third area is, of course, the chief rabbinate. Shas backed a state kashrut law that puts kashrut supervision back under the chief rabbinate and says we'll keep strengthening religious services.
On ritual baths, their line is, quote, they talk about closing mikveot. We will keep building them, end quote. And on kosher phones, Shas says it will keep defending, quote, the right of every community to live according to its faith, end quote. On Shabbat and on marriage, the one statement I found is from April 20th. Naftali Bennett had said he supports public transportation on Shabbat and civil marriage. And Shas answered that anyone willing to sell, quote, the Jewish identity of the state, the holy Shabbat, and marriage, according to the law of Moses in Israel, end quote, will end up selling the land of Israel too. But as we said before, that's an answer to a rival and it doesn't lay out a proposal.
I could not find any published position on the topic of conversion.
October 7 accountability
On September 16th, Derry wrote that Shas is determined, end quote, to fix the justice, quote, to fix the justice system from the ground up and to return power to the people and its elected representatives, end quote. The one specific measure they name is splitting the Attorney General's job into more than one role. Shas supported that bill when it passed their first reading in June and said it would keep working to, quote, restrain the power of the justice system, end quote. Derry has also written that Shas wants a, quote, non-political justice system, end quote. And he framed the whole election this way, either the rule of the Attorney General or, quote, the legacy of Moran, meaning Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
In his words, quote, there is no third way, end quote. I did not find a published proposal on how judges are to be chosen. I couldn't find a published education policy. Shas did object when the high court froze budget transfers that Shas says went to Haredi children. But that statement doesn't propose anything like we said previously. I couldn't find a health policy for the next term. Shas posted a video of its former health minister describing what it calls its achievements. In July, Shas posted that the Knesset Finance Committee approved about 10 million shekels more for food baskets for families in need from Shas coalition funds.
In the same post, former welfare minister Yaakov Margi said Shas will continue to care for the weak. That's a goal with a past action attached, but it's not a policy statement. I couldn't find anything on pensions or on the elderly. I could not find a published position on Arab citizens or other minorities in the state.
Housing, Immigration: no stated position
On immigration, on immigration, absorption, or on the diaspora, I found in all their published statements nothing published. I found no position in any of their works on the environment, on energy, or on transportation. The slogan of Shas is, quote, I have chosen the way of faith, end quote, a line from Psalms, and Shas posted it as a billboard and a bus ad next to a photo of the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The other message is Torah learners and soldiers together. Shas ran a campaign video about what it calls the Shas family, and Derry posted letters from supporters describing families with one son in yeshiva and another in the army.
He also wrote that Shas is, quote, the home of Torah learners and of soldiers. There's no published Shas position on October 7th accountability, housing, education, health, pensions, Arab
What's missing
citizens, immigration, or the environment, and no concrete security plan. On the economy and welfare, what they publish is mostly a record of their last term. That's what Shas has put into writing as of this recording. Every source I use is linked in the description, most of them in Hebrew, so you can read them yourself. If they publish more before the election, I'll do my best to pin an update in the comments. Next is list number 20, Haredi Public, and the full playlist is linked below. The Close Read is free to watch and to listen, and if you'd like to support it, my Patreon is linked in the description. Thank you very much.
