Shas has dropped to just seven Knesset seats in a new Maariv poll, marking the second consecutive survey showing the Sephardic chareidi party at its lowest level in years.

The poll, released Friday, shows Likud gaining two seats to reach 22 mandates following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Washington visit and meeting with President Donald Trump. Despite Likud’s gains, the coalition bloc remains stuck at 49 seats—well short of a governing majority.

According to the survey, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party remains the largest faction with 23 seats, followed by Likud with 22. Beyachad receives 15 seats, Yisrael Beiteinu 10, the Democrats 9, United Torah Judaism 8, Otzma Yehudit 7, and Shas 7. Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am each receive 5 seats, Religious Zionism 5, and a new “Zionist Home” party led by Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel crosses the electoral threshold with 4 seats.

While the coalition remains at 49 seats, the broader opposition bloc stands at 57 seats. However, if Tropper and Hendel’s party enters the Knesset, it could provide the anti-Netanyahu bloc with a parliamentary majority.

The poll also examined a scenario in which Benny Gantz, Ayelet Shaked, Yuli Edelstein, and Dadi Simchi run together on a new political list. In that case, the new party would receive four seats, while Tropper and Hendel’s party would fall below the electoral threshold. The coalition would gain one additional seat to reach 50, while the Zionist opposition would slip to 56 seats. The Arab parties would remain at 10 seats.

Asked who should lead the center-left bloc, 45% of opposition voters chose Eisenkot, compared to 25% for Naftali Bennett, 11% for Avigdor Liberman, and 10% for Yair Golan.

In head-to-head polling for prime minister, Bennett leads Netanyahu 44% to 39%, while Eisenkot holds a wider 48% to 38% advantage. Netanyahu, however, leads Liberman 43% to 39%.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)