Shas leader Aryeh Deri said on Sunday that he will not take up the seat he won in the 26th Knesset but will stay on as party chairman.
Deri said on X that he asked the party’s Council of Torah Sages to allow him to give up his Knesset seat, and it agreed. He said the move frees him for “in-depth tours” across the country and closer ties with the grassroots.
He said his seat would go to “the young representatives.”
Deri said he would continue to meet weekly with the Shas faction, guide its lawmakers and oversee their work.
“Together we will continue to restore the crown to its former glory and to safeguard the Torah world and the Jewish identity of the state,” he wrote in Hebrew.
Deri has served in nine Knessets since first entering parliament following the 1992 election.
בהוראת מועצת חכמי התורה, אמשיך לכהן כיו״ר ש״ס ולפעול במלוא המרץ.
— אריה מכלוף דרעי (@ariyederi) November 8, 2026
בכוונתי לצאת לסיורי עומק בכל הארץ ולחזק את הקשר עם השטח. לשם כך, ביקשתי וקיבלתי את הסכמת המועצת לפנות את מקומי בכנסת לנציגים הצעירים.
אמשיך לכנס את הסיעה מדי שבוע, להנחות את הח״כים ולפקח על עבודתם.
יחד נמשיך… pic.twitter.com/v9M7Opokeh
