Shas chairman Aryeh Deri wondered on Tuesday evening how haredim are allowing themselves to stay at home on election day and not vote in order to prevent Yair Lapid from remaining as Prime Minister. "The Torah world as a whole is in great danger," he said in an interview with the haredi radio station Kol Barama . "I can't understand the reports about the indifference. We shouted a year and a half ago that a great disaster would happen, they didn't believe us." "Now they are in power and we all hear what Lapid is plotting to continue to do. He wants to recognize the Reform Jews and he says so openly. I say: Good Lord! How can people in the haredi public not go to vote? They want to take away their property tax discounts, cut their budget for kollelim and discounts for day care centers." He added, "The house is on fire and people are philosophizing? What do those haredim who do not want to vote prefer, that the left remain and Liberman destroys the world of Torah for good? I turn to the entire public and say: There is no way that a haredi Jew who observes the Torah and mitzvot will not go vote, or vote for a non-haredi party. What did the President of the Council of Torah Sages, Rabbi Shalom Cohen, say before he died? God's dignity is at stake." Deri commented on the Shas campaign, saying that "I am not stopping for one moment and only believe in the real poll, which is the poll of election day. We are doing everything possible in this campaign. They are currently celebrating and doing whatever they want in the government offices. They should be removed from all positions as soon as possible."
