Shas theater of the absurd-Shas theater of the absurd Yehuda Shlezinger

 
Shas theater of the absurd

Yehuda Shlezinger

Shas media gurus face a daunting task: convincing a skeptical public that party leader Aryeh Deri plans to follow through on his resignation from the Knesset (which, barring any change of heart, will take effect Thursday).

Why would Shas need to go out of its way to do this? It's absurd, no?

Not really. Now that Deri has tendered his resignation from the Knesset, does that mean he will no longer be involved in election matters? According to his associates, "he is a party member and he will be fully engaged."

In a letter addressed to the Shas Council of Torah Sages, fellow Shas MKs said they would want to resign en masse should Deri leave the Knesset. But the language of the letter suggested Deri's decision might not be final. "If, God forbid, he will be allowed to quit, we would like to stop serving as well," read the last sentence of the letter. Perhaps his fellow Shas MKs were not fully resigned to his resignation. Another telling sign that this might just be a charade was the letter issued by Shas-affiliated city council members all over the country, in which they said they would resign if Deri's resignation became official. Have they taken any concrete steps in the matter? No.

So why did Shas officials not resign en masse? Shas officials may have realized that resigning from the Knesset two months before the elections may create splashing headlines, but they know full well that this may just be a symbolic move on the party of Deri. Deri's wife, Yaffa, poured cold water on their enthusiasm when she said that her husband was going to resign "unless ... ."

If this were not reality, we would probably think all this came right out of some spin doctor's playbook.

Here is a recount of what happened: On Sunday, a new tape showed the late Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef lambasting Deri. He did not mince words. The following day, Yosef's sons and daughters visited their father's grave to ask for forgiveness. They said they were sorry his memory had been disgraced by the new footage. It is very unlikely that Yosef's image was hurt by the video. Nevertheless, they still called it the "Day of Disgrace."

On Monday, the evening news reported Deri's dramatic announcement. This was the opening shot for the "Day of Courting." For the next 24 hours, MKs practically begged Deri to change his mind. Rabbis wrote letters. Shas politicians vowed to resign. Deri supporters once again pitched the "Lion's Roar" tent (which plays on Deri's first name, which means "lion"), just as they did after he was convicted in his corruption trial 15 years ago. They told the cameras they were there because they wanted "Deri to continue leading the revolution."

Against this backdrop, Shas drove home the message that Deri was really leaving. Officials arrived at the homes of rabbis; Deri texted his son that "you will now have a full-time dad." Then Deri went before the cameras to show his letter of resignation.

Over the next few days we will inevitably see the "Deri, please come back" campaign continue in full swing. The weekend supplements will include colorful feature pieces chronicling the events at the tent. Rabbis will lament the loss. Supporters will circulate pro-Deri petitions. And the Deri ethos will be touted once again. This circuitous reality could not all be one big media spin. Or maybe it is, after all