A bloc stronger than blocking the coronavirus

Supporters of Shas commemorated their mentor, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, on the seventh anniversary of his death on Tuesday – and with the ceremony, memories were rekindled of many experts predicting that Shas would die with him.

They said there was no chance that the influential party would follow Chabad’s example and remain a force without its rabbi.

Shas did not expand by leaps and bounds like Chabad, but it is still going strong, winning the fourth- highest number of seats in the last election. Part of its staying power is its bond with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has outlasted his alliances with Yisrael Beytenu and Yamina.

“There is no alternative to Bibi,” Shas MK Moshe Abutbul told Radio Tzafon on Tuesday. “We won’t sit along

side [ Yesh Atid leader Yair] Lapid or [ Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor] Liberman.”

That bond has been proven so strong that Netanyahu’s associates have had difficulty denying reports that Netanyahu and Shas leader Arye Deri have agreed to turn a blind eye to haredi ( ultra- Orthodox) violations of coronavirus restrictions.

Haaretz reported a secret agreement under which the community’s elementary schools would operate unofficially despite the restrictions, without suffering consequences. Channel 12 reported on a deal between Netanyahu and the leaders of Shas and United Torah Judaism over tough rhetoric about violations in public but soft handling of enforcement.

Both reports were refuted by all those involved. But the denials appeared simply to be part of the same deal.

With the future of his political career in jeopardy, Netanyahu now needs his remaining political allies more than ever and Shas and UTJ need him more than ever, too, to keep their schools open while their secular and religious Zionist cousins continue home schooling.

Deri and UTJ leader Yaakov Litzman, each also face their own criminal investigations that could end their political careers. That has added another layer of adhesive to tighten their bond with the perpetually probed prime minister.

As long as all those political realities continue, Netanyahu’s bloc with his haredi allies will apparently remain a higher priority for him than blocking coronavirus.