Shas leader Aryeh Deri: Real threat of a secular Leftist government
Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri caste his vote in Har Nof in the capital on Tuesday during the re-do elections.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFShad leader and Minister of the Interior, Ayreh Deri casts his vote in Har Nof, Jerusalem, September 17 2019(photo credit: SHAS)
Minister Aryeh Deri [Shas] caste his vote in Har Nof, Jerusalem on Tuesday and told reporters on location, "There's a real danger of a secular Leftist government being formed [after the elections]."Deri said, "Wealthy communities [of] secular Ashkenazi [European Jews]" enjoy "higher voting rates" and added that "massive operations are taking place there [at these communities] to get them out to vote."Deri said that he regrets not seeing a similar sense of urgency among "our own ranks," meaning the non-Ashkenazi religious Jewish communities who usually support his party.He urged people to go out and vote and warned that, in his opinion, a coalition government of Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman and "the Arabs" is a likely outcome of the elections.In response to a question from the Post about what these "massive operations" might be a Shas spokesperson pointed to a recent ruling against a campaign by Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai that offered city residents a discount for swimming pools in the north of the city if they offer proof of voting, the city also offered discounts to non-kosher pubs and museums.Shas argues that these discounts are "illegal elections bribes" meant to encourage Left-leaning voters to come to the ballot box and "steal the elections illegally."Shas is famous for offering its voters a free pass to heaven if they vote for it. Read more about Aryeh Deri.
