Former longtime Shas minister and chairman Eli Yishai is considering joining forces with a new ultra-Orthodox party, The Haredi Public, Hebrew media reported Wednesday.

The fledgling party announced its plans to participate in the upcoming election last month, saying it had been created in response to a growing “sense of disconnect” between the Haredi community and its political leadership.

At the time, The Haredi Public, led by Beit Shemesh Deputy Mayor Moti Leitner, said it represented working and new-immigrant Haredim seeking greater influence within the existing ultra-Orthodox political establishment.

While estimating that it could garner votes equivalent to around three Knesset seats – which is below the electoral threshold – if it ran independently, the party reportedly said its goal was to secure representation within the two existing major ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, which are both part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.

A joint run between Yishai and The Haredi Public is now being seriously considered, Channel 12 reported Wednesday, with several meetings having taken place recently between the party’s leadership and the former Shas leader.

The potential joint run is motivated in part by an effort to appeal to disillusioned Shas supporters, as reflected in recent election polls by several Hebrew media outlets, including Channel 12 and Maariv, which show the Sephardic Haredi party dropping from eight seats to seven.

Heritage........

© The Times of Israel