Behind the scenes of 'Shas chairman' role • So who is the real owner? Exposure

If earlier last week it seemed that Aryeh Deri, the man who returned from the cold, was to receive the title of Shas Chairman before the submission of the Shas list to the Central Elections Committee, the events of Tuesday and Wednesday in the movement came about, as described in special columns published here in Behadrey Haredim - and put an end to the illusion: the title of chairman which was taken away two months ago from Eli Yishai, will not be officially given to one of the leading trio.

In fact, as we showed, the authorities of the party chairman themselves – the authority of elections management, as well as management of the arena and municipal representatives - were transferred entirely and exclusively to Deri. Merely the title itself divides between him and honor. Yet, as he himself repeatedly said in various interviews, not for the sake of honor did he come back to the movement. "I came to work," he says over and over again, "to plow the land".

Previous chapters:
• Behind the scenes of Yahadut HaTorah: failed mediation, decisions and spins
• Behind the Scenes of Shas list • One who conceded, one who protested and one who surrendered

On Thursday a document was published, which was signed by Interior Minister Eli Yishai, which transfers the power of party representative to Deri. This document is a power of attorney to Deri to work with the Central Election Commission throughout the election period.

But now we reveal another document signed by Minister Yishai - a document which the media had tried to find, but without success. According to the document, published here for the first time, Interior Minister Eli Yishai transferred to Deri not only the authority of the representative of the party, but also, and especially, the power of attorney of the list.

The only remaining title in hand for Yishai is representative of the party. But he does not affect the management of the list for the next four years and / or the date of the 20th general election and / or until the taking of authority, if that happens.

Why in fact, was the document transferring to Deri the authority as representative of the party not given to Deri? The reason is simple: such a transfer could be performed legally only last Wednesday, but at that point the Council of Torah Sages had not yet convened (the meeting was postponed until Thursday due to the state of health of Hgr"a Yosef) and before it had convened and decided - no one signed a single paper.

After the Council of Torah Sages determined categorically that the powers will be in the hands of Deri, who is required to manage the movement, including the scene and the election campaign - two documents were produced. One of them was published on Thursday. The other is published here for the first time. Both were confirmed by Yishai who signed.

The document was signed, by the way, by Nati Lasri as well, acting counsellor for the party today.

The lack of document transferring the authorities of the party to Deri, gives Yishai the authority to determine for the party in four years time, i.e., during the next elections.


What did Yishai try to cancel?,
According to legends dispersedd, Minister Eli Yishai tried to cancel the document transferring the powers of the list in face of the Election Committee, shortly after signing it. A physical examination at the Elections Committee shows that there is no truth whatsoever in this claim.

The Executive Director, Assistant Executive Director, Deputy Attorney General and the various secretaries did not know of such a story. The truth is that when Yishai signed the forms, he did not understand their practical significance. After it was explained to him, he tried to ask senior officials in Shas not to transfer them to the Central Election Commission. But since it was the decision of the Council of Torah Sages, it was not possible to reverse the situation.

Still, Yishai can take comfort that the title of chairman has not yet been transferred, due to the fact that Hagr"a Yosef had not yet decided about it.

You have to remember that 12 years of working closely with Shas chairman Eli Yishai will not be forgotten soon. President of the Council of Sages again showed his great love for him, and it will probably take time for him to absorb the change requested in the leadership of the movement.

During the following months, the activity of the new Chairman Deri will be examined in practice.

If this activity will lead to the desired results, there is no doubt that the title will be granted to him respectfully. When this process occurs, Deri could mark for himself a huge 'V' and feel that he was right when he preferred to give up titles and honor, thinking practically that they are not the main thing - in contrast to many of his associates, who found it difficult to digest the fact that despite his hard work on the scene, he can only look out from the peak of the mountain on the title of chairman, but to come to the promised land - he is not yet allowed.

That is regarding the title, for in practice he is already there, in the Promised Land after a landing which wasn't simple and his hope is for a take off.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!