Source, what unidentified source? Yediot is trying to divide Shas from Habayit Hayehudi. In order to promote the rock star, lapid. Sorry, the story is pure fabrication and will not work .

Let them go & serve like everyone else. No more free rides.

don t react on insults,focus on your goal..

"We're just as committed to the Halacha and we can protect the religious sector just as well." But can they protect the secular, mainstream public?

At least he has the courage of fighting against the CORRUPTED REFORMS IN BLACK!

Iberian Jewry (distinct fromMizrachi Jewry) at its height set the standard for what its leading scholars were expected to know. Beyond Torah and Talmud they were expected to know mathematics and astronomy, grammar and music, medicine, and much more. But where are the Sephardi religious leaders that know any of this? They thus set a bad example for their students. Maimonides promoted the "middle way", and warned of religious extremes. He also disparaged rabbis who expected to be supported by the community just for studying; he worked, and expected them to work too. It's too bad they don't follow his example. UTJ deserves as much of the blame for "giving Torah a bad name". When haredim worked out the "status quo" arrangements with Ben Gurion almost 70 years ago, some 700 students were granted IDF exemption. Today they number over 60,000. That also meant only a few then would not be participating in the workforce, but today they are far larger. Yet Shas and UTJ still want to maintain those arrangements.

no, it's the secular public's disdain of the SHAS...let's CALL A SPADE A SPADE... ISRAEL WOULD LOSE 80% OF IT'S ANTI SEMITIC ATTACKS IF THE SHAS WENT AWAY...it's accepted common knowledge and no surprise to any secular Jewish person.

Talk about the kettle calling the pot black!

The unmitigated arrogance of Ovadia Yosef only serves to drive a further wedge between people raised secular who may have a small spark of interest in religion. This man, this so called "rabbi" is a bloated goat whom G-d will profoundly punish. His service is to his cult followers the weak and vulnerable members of society who bleat at his side, kissing his hand only to further bloat his twisted ego. His ignorance of how he appears to the world and how he represents Judaism to the world, who like all other cult figures before him actually is only concerned about the power and the money , which 7 convicted and jailed Shas MKs on charges of serious fraud and corruption go's to prove. This man is a grave sinner and a fraudulent representative anything and everything holy. He is a criminal that wraps himself in religious garb of the most flamboyant nature yet flaunts the very basic laws he claims to represent. .

I don't support Habayit Hayehudi's policies overall, but I can tip my hat to Naftali Bennett for coming out and saying what the majority of us have been thinking for a very long time. Shas has given nothing to the country, only taken from it, resulting in unprecedented bitterness towards the "normal" orthodox community. It looks like we may finally be getting some forces of reason into government - not a day too soon. It's time that Shas took a long walk off a short plank so we can breathe again.

Oslo was not the only time a disastrous leftist abomination was inflicted upon Israel due to Shas support. As a result of Oslo, thousands of Israelis were maimed and murdered. Shas empowerment of the disastrous left means it deserves zero votes.

who voted for bayit hayehudi...i hate shas

haredi dressing. It endagers seriously the general image of the jewish people. Where is in the Torah or even in the Talmud ( completed in the VIII. century ) that religious jews must wear XII. century's polish and german dresses like kaftan ( polish origin ). The whole world is laughing on it !

This is an interesting Spat The Habayit Hayehudi party is made of white skinned folks and Shas is made up of tanned skin folks

Of course he said this today- You are the one making up lies here, since you can't accecpt the fact that even the religious can't stand Shas. Time for you to wake up...!

By verbally abusing SHAS you abuse all its voters and this is more than one million Jews (voters and their families). By the way, SHAS did a lot of good for the general public. For example, its leader Eli Yishai being the Interior minister, started the deportation of the illegal Africans. Arye Dery improved the work of the Interior ministry's offices. "The Economist" once called SHAS "the party of the Sefardic proletariat". It's OK to criticize SHAS, but to hate...

The most authoritive halachic authority of the last 50 years. The man who lead a revolution in the state to fight for equal recognition of Sephardi traditions,education,welfare and culture. And the man who succeded in all of this.

Is an extremest nutter , but he is lurking behind the scene for the moment ..Bennet is the smiling face of his party but some of his mentors are really extreme, so dont be too easily drawn in.

I agree with what Bennet says. Shas is the only ethnic party that has succeeded at a terrible cost for Torah and the State of Israel. Russians no longer vote for a Russian party but the Arabs vote for Arab parties.

Shas take a true situation from the '50's and falsely and cynicaly perpetuate it in this century for politicle reasons...There is no section of Israeli society where North Africans can not be found influencing to the good, all spheres of our culture.......Maybe we should take the example of the 50's treatment of "oriental" Jews and learn to teach the Ethiopian sector more fairly!

If Bennet made this statement then I am wrong. Why did Yediot report source and not Bennet? You should recheck your sources. If you expect the Prime Minister to dump Shas and the UTJ and anoint rock star, Lapid, then you have been smoking the wacky weed and you are totally out of touch with the reality of Israeli politics.

who crowned you Rasputin?

Mr. its not about Sephardic or Ashkenazi Jews.We do not need in our time people who tries to divide Israel again. People who still tries to do so should be banned from politics immediately.

A few specific exceptions like just married (only exempt first year), just planted etc. But it also says in time of war even these fight. EVERYBODY defends the country. And all men are supposed to support their families. It's not the woman's job and CERTAINLY not right for the state to take money from others and give to them. THIS IS AGAINST Torah. So Bennett is absolutely right. This twisting of Torah by parasites has made many seculars hate Torah - a form of Chillul HaShem by those who use it to their advantage only. National Religious are MORE Torah observant than heredim. IDF and work are only two examples.

I notice you have not bothered to suggest that Ashkenazi Haradim should vote for various other parties instead of UTJ. Inherent racism my friends abound within you. How many Sephardim are Professors, or Judges or in University education, or in the various political parties, or are Capitan’s of Industries, or in the financial sector? Whats’s the matter with you dummies, do your sums. Sephardim are over 50% of the population. So why? What exactly did the seculars do but abuse them and ridicule their traditions for so long. It was only through Shas that Sephardim found a voice and a way to fight back. But you dummies still don’t get it. You don’t like it when the Sephardim fight back or point out all your failings. You cover your shame by pretending everything’s fine and there is no reason why Shas increased their votes by 45,000 despite Amshellem and Amnon misdirecting some 70,000 voters away fromthem.

Take a look at the curricula of Shas schools. It may give you some idea, why the graduates are not Professors, Judges and Captains of Industry.

All of the Shas MP's have been in the Army and so have most Shas voters. Why are you having difficulty internalising that.

Hersey is not a substitute for proper journalism.