Aryeh Deri must make room for the new generation in Shas | Moshe Nestelbaum

Moshe Nestelbaum argues that Aryeh Deri must step aside for a new generation in Shas, after the party plummeted from 11 to 6 seats in the 2026 elections. The author attributes the decline to accelerated 'Haredization' and the abandonment of the traditional public, and calls for soul-searching and opening the ranks.

In an opinion piece in Maariv, Moshe Nestelbaum argues that Shas chairman Aryeh Deri must make way for a new generation, after the party fell from 11 seats in the previous elections to 6 seats in the 2026 elections. The author describes the decline as a chain reaction in which Deri, once portrayed as a political 'magician,' became trapped in a traffic jam of his own making. Nestelbaum claims that Shas has transformed from a social powerhouse that brought 17 seats in the days of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef into a classic Haredi-establishment party that abandoned the broad traditional public, which moved to Likud and Otzma Yehudit. He criticizes the blind partnership with the right-wing bloc and with Benjamin Netanyahu, which turned Shas into a sure bet in Likud's pocket. The author calls for soul-searching, limiting Deri's powers, and opening the ranks to young people, presenting Deri with two options: continue blaming racism and the media and lead Shas below the electoral threshold, or admit failure and step aside.