A senior Shas official says the party is abandoning its previous approach to the draft crisis and preparing for a much more aggressive campaign on behalf of bnei yeshiva, following what he described as a breakdown in efforts to reach an agreement with coalition partners.

Speaking after a Shas faction meeting that lasted nearly four hours, MK Chaim Biton said party leaders concluded that existing strategies had run their course amid mounting arrests of yeshiva students and growing pressure on the Torah world.

“I don’t remember such a long faction meeting,” Biton said, explaining that the discussion focused almost entirely on the challenges facing the chareidi community and the detention of bnei yeshiva.

According to Biton, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri spent years attempting to resolve the issue from within the government and the right-wing coalition framework. However, he said recent developments have convinced party leaders that a new approach is necessary.

“I think this is where the realization finally came that this is no longer possible, and that we need to go out and pursue new courses of action,” he said.

Biton stressed that the effort to advance a Basic Law protecting Torah study is not merely symbolic but part of what he described as a comprehensive strategy designed to strengthen the status of lomdei Torah in Israeli society.

He acknowledged that many within the chareidi public feel frustrated with political leadership, but argued that much of the struggle has taken place behind closed doors and therefore remained invisible to the public.

“The most frustrating thing is when something is happening in a closed room and you want to scream about it, but you can’t,” Biton said.

According to him, concerns over legal intervention and actions by the Attorney General frequently prevented public disclosure of efforts being made to find solutions.

“Only a few days ago it was decided that there will be no draft law, period.”

One of the most significant announcements during the interview involved plans for a broader and more coordinated public campaign.

Biton revealed that Shas is working with United Torah Judaism to establish a joint command center that would coordinate future responses to the crisis.

“We want to establish a joint command center together, and that command center will deal with all of these issues,” he said.

He indicated that the public should expect concrete action in the coming days rather than additional statements or declarations.

“From now on, you are going to see a determined, tough struggle here that, with Hashem’s help, will also produce results.”

Biton also leveled sharp criticism at law-enforcement authorities over the handling of arrests involving yeshiva students.

He described a reality in which avreichim fear even routine interactions with police officers because of concerns that such encounters could lead to detention.

“He is afraid that a police officer will stop him for a traffic violation, because then he will arrest him for learning Torah,” Biton claimed.

At the same time, he praised several Likud lawmakers—including Dudi Amsalem, Tally Gotliv, Galit Distel, and Avichai Boaron—for what he said has been their consistent support for lomdei Torah and their willingness to defend the Torah world publicly.

Concluding the interview, Biton delivered a direct message both to the chareidi public and to coalition partners.

While acknowledging that the chareidi parties have thus far failed to achieve their objectives regarding the draft issue, he insisted that a new phase has now begun.

“There will never be a situation in which we abandon our bochurim,” he declared.

“We tried everything. It’s over. Now we are working with a new method, a new path.”

Biton said the decisions reached during the lengthy faction meeting mark the beginning of a broader campaign aimed at restoring what he described as the dignity and sense of security of lomdei Torah, which he believes have been severely damaged in recent months.

{Matzav.com}