Shas and UTJ weigh coalition options as Eisenkot seeks path to majority

Shas opens door to Eisenkot coalition as UTJ weighs abstention, while Lieberman's opposition to ultra-Orthodox parties complicates government formation

i24NEWSYuval Barnea ■ i24NEWS, Yuval Barnea
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Shas chairman Aryeh Deri attends a vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026.
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri attends a vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

Shas's leadership has not ruled out working with Gadi Eisenkot, according to Rabbi Moshe Maya, a member of the Council of Torah Sages, told Israeli media.

Can Gadi Eisenkot build a minority government coalition with the support of the Arab parties?
Can Gadi Eisenkot build a minority government coalition with the support of the Arab parties?

Maya recently said, "there is no reason to rule out coalition negotiations with Eisenkot," which indicates greater openness among Shas' spiritual leadership to the possibility of joining Eisenkot's bloc than previously thought.

Meanwhile, another prominent leader, Rabbi Nissim Ze’ev, spoke to i24NEWS' Hebrew Channel, reiterating widespread party support for Aryeh Deri, the party's leader, saying, "Anyone who knows Aryeh knows that Shas is his spirit and soul—and Shas is him. Whoever doesn’t want Deri doesn’t want Shas, and that’s the problem."

He pointed to the party's failure to properly campaign as its biggest issue following its worst performance in decades: "There was no election campaign at all—and what they did do simply failed to draw voters."

Even if Shas did choose to support Eisenkot's bloc against Netanyahu's, questions would still remain for the second ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism. The two parties have traditionally worked together to support governments more amenable to Haredi interests.

UTJ told Maariv that they were still awaiting the return of rabbis from abroad before making a decision. They indicated that a likely option was to abstain from recommending a prime minister, favoring neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu.

UTJ announced shortly after that party leader MK Yaakov Asher, MK Yitzhak Goldknopf, and MK Meir Porush reviewed the party’s significant electoral success and discussed future courses of action.

The largest hurdle to securing ultra-Orthodox support or abstention is Yisrael Beiteinu's Avigdor Lieberman who has long taken a hard-line stance on ultra-Orthodox military conscription and has made it a red line for his participation in a government.

Lieberman is quickly emerging as a key player in coalition negotiations as his refusal to work with either the Arab parties or the ultra-Orthodox parties puts Eisenkot's bloc in a bind.

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