Senior Shas officials: Rabbi Yosef not ready to quit coalition
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent Last update - 02:50 13/02/2008
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/953638.html

Senior Shas officials have criticized the escalation in recent days by party
chairman and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai of his threats to
quit the coalition. They say that the party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia
Yosef, does not want to leave the government at this stage. In addition,
they say, the calls to leave contradict the position taken by the Council of
Torah Sages three weeks ago, according to which Shas will leave the cabinet
only if and when the issue of Jerusalem is discussed in negotiations with
the Palestinians. The Shas sources say that because Yosef does not believe
that the negotiations will lead to real results on their current trajectory,
due to the weak position of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he sees no
need for Shas to intensify its threats.
The sources emphasized, however, that Yosef is aware of recent statements
ascribed to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, to the effect that Jerusalem has
already been put on the negotiating table, and that he asked Yishai to
request clarifications from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after he returns from
Germany.

Since Yisrael Beiteinu left the government last month, over its objections
to the "core issues" being addressed in the negotiations with the
Palestinians, leaving Shas as the lone right-wing party in the coalition,
Yishai has moved Shas's foreign policy positions farther to the right and
stepped up its threats to leave the coalition.

At first, Shas, with the approval of the Council of Torah Sages, made the
discussion of Jerusalem its red-line issue. Later, Yishai implied that the
raising of other core issues, such as the Palestinian refugees and the
permanent borders of the state, were also problematic for Shas. On Monday he
announced at a meeting of the Shas MKs that if progress was made in the
negotiations while Qassam fire continued at its current rate, Shas would
leave the coalition immediately.

The Shas officials said that Yishai's latest threats point to his preparing
the ground for pulling the party out of the government, despite Yosef's
objections. Last week Yishai said at a conference of party activists that
new Knesset elections could take place before the mayoral elections,
currently scheduled nationwide for November.

The decision to hold a joint Shas-National Union tour Thursday of the
Jerusalem neighborhoods of Har Homa and Ir David also met with criticism
from within Shas. The officials said it would be better to hold a separate
tour for Shas, as originally planned.