Shas, UTJ sign surplus-vote agreement ahead of election

By Ariela Karmel

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties announce that they have signed a surplus-vote agreement ahead of the October 27 election.

In a joint statement, UTJ chair MK Yaakov Asher and Shas leader MK Aryeh Deri say that the agreement “reflects the continuation of cooperation between the two factions, in accordance with the directives of the generation’s leading rabbis and sages.”

They add that the two parties will “continue to cooperate fully and present a united front on core issues concerning the preservation of Torah study, the status of yeshiva students and the strengthening of religious educational institutions.”

Surplus-vote agreements do not merge parties, which run independently and must each cross the 3.25 percent electoral threshold for the deal to take effect, but pool leftover votes in the allocation of the Knesset’s final seats, potentially helping one of the parties gain an additional mandate. Parties have until October 16 to submit their agreements.

Both parties are currently polling at around eight seats each.

Separately, in an interview with radio station Kol Barama, UTJ candidate Moshe Rosenthal says the party will refuse to join any government unless its demands for legislation preserving military-service exemptions for yeshiva students are met.

Asked about whether they would sit in a government led by Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, the front-runner, Rosenthal says: “We will go with whoever commits to passing a conscription law that can withstand High Court scrutiny. After the elections, the leading rabbis will decide.”

His remarks follow a Channel 12 report last month that said UTJ would not oppose an Eisenkot-led government, amid lingering anger over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to pass legislation exempting ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from military service, potentially depriving the premier of crucial support needed to form a government.

While Eisenkot has pledged to advance legislation ending sweeping draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men and he has said that no Haredi party currently meets his conditions for joining a government, he has also previously signaled openness to governing with Haredi parties, particularly Shas.