Shas chairman Aryeh Deri has accused left-wing activists and organizations of financing a coordinated campaign to weaken Chareidi political leadership, claiming they recruited members of the Chareidi community to sow division, secretly record rabbanim, and erode public trust in daas Torah.

Speaking in an interview in Hebrew with Kikar HaShabbat, Deri said what he described as a sophisticated effort has been underway for an extended period with the goal of damaging both the Chareidi community’s leadership and its political influence.

“They’ve been doing this for a long time,” Deri said. “It has to be said in the clearest possible way: Kaplanists, money from the left, from global or Israeli foundations, from high-tech—left-liberal money that wants to completely secularize the country and dismantle the right-wing and the faith-based bloc—has unfortunately succeeded in buying a number of collaborators from within our own community.”

Deri insisted that his claims are based on concrete information rather than speculation.

“I’m talking to you now about facts, okay? I also know the names,” he said.

According to Deri, those individuals were recruited from within the Chareidi community and worked to undermine its rabbinic leadership.

“They succeeded in taking activists from within our community, and taking activists from our community who went and recorded our rabbis and went and did things to destroy, first and foremost, emunas chachamim.”

Deri said the campaign was designed to create internal conflict and weaken the bond between the Chareidi public and its elected representatives.

“To create division among the sages, to create disputes and divide the public… they turned the public against its representatives.”

According to Deri, the broader objective extends beyond attacks on individual politicians.

“The ultimate goal,” he argued, “is one thing—that the Chareidi public stays home.”

He maintained that the criticism directed toward him should not be viewed as an isolated political dispute, but rather as part of a broader strategy aimed at reducing the Chareidi community’s political influence.

Describing what he believes are the forces behind the campaign, Deri again pointed to “left-liberal money that wants to completely secularize the country and dismantle the right-wing and the faith-based bloc.”

{Matzav.com}