Chairman of Shas Aryeh Deri lashed out Wednesday evening at his coalition partners—Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, and the Likud—over what he described in closed-door conversations as their “deafening silence” following a High Court decision freezing funds for chareidi Torah education.
According to associates who spoke with Deri, the Shas leader expressed deep anger and disappointment at the lack of public condemnation from senior coalition figures after the High Court issued an interim order halting the transfer of roughly one billion shekels earmarked for chareidi educational institutions. The ruling has intensified tensions inside the coalition as preparations for elections—widely expected later this year—accelerate, with cracks and internal rifts becoming increasingly visible.
Deri was quoted as saying that the decision was being treated “as if it were a budget for climate issues or beach cleanups,” adding a pointed warning to his partners: “They must understand clearly—the Jewish identity of this country is the foundation of this government. Without education based on the Torah of Israel, even the struggle for the Land of Israel will not succeed.”
Earlier in the evening, Deri held what was described as a sharp and heated phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently in the United States. During the conversation, Deri conveyed what his office termed a “forceful protest” against the High Court’s decision, warning that its implications amount to “the destruction of the entire chareidi education system.”
Deri told Netanyahu that the issue transcends chareidi party politics and constitutes a fight for the coalition as a whole. He demanded that upon his return, the prime minister immediately convene the ministerial team established to address chareidi education and mobilize all available political and financial resources to combat the ruling. Netanyahu, according to those briefed on the call, voiced full backing for Deri’s demand and pledged to convene the ministers promptly to deal with the matter.
Meanwhile, MK Moshe Arbel publicly broke his silence with a scathing attack on the High Court. “There are no judges in Yerushalayim,” Arbel said. “Since I became politically aware, I cannot recall a petition by a party that failed to secure a parliamentary majority managing, within a single day, to cancel a Knesset decision through a judicial ruling that directly harms the salaries of teachers in Israel.” He went on to mockingly invite what he called the “High Court Party” to run together with Yesh Atid in the next Knesset elections.
The High Court’s interim order, issued Wednesday evening by Justice Yael Wilner, freezes the transfer of approximately one billion shekels approved earlier this week by the Knesset Finance Committee. The funds were designated for chareidi educational frameworks and were halted following a petition filed by Yesh Atid. In her ruling, Wilner wrote that after reviewing the request, responses, and replies, an interim injunction was warranted barring any further transfers until a subsequent decision is issued.
Yesh Atid officials said the interim order does not go far enough and signaled their intention to seek an expanded remedy that would require chareidi teachers to return funds already disbursed earlier in the day, before the injunction took effect.
Shas responded with an especially harsh statement, accusing the High Court of “antisemitic persecution” and likening it to “a reckless driver barreling through a crowded highway, ruthlessly running over the chareidi public.” The party charged that the ruling robs children of their basic sustenance, undermines Torah study, and harms the education of tens of thousands of students. Declaring that “there are no judges in Yerushalayim, only a dangerous group of arsonists,” Shas called on Jews worldwide to raise their voices in protest, vowing that the chareidi public would stand firm against what it described as malicious and unprecedented decisions.
{Matzav.com}
