Shea Levin — text status

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu publicly defended Shas chairman Aryeh Deri on Monday, amid reports that Deri has been ignoring Netanyahu’s phone calls since Shas suffered a major setback in last week’s elections, instead directing him to his close associate Yisrael Bachar. Netanyahu accused the political left of attacking Deri for years while now offering Chareidi parties “heaven and earth” to join their coalition. He declared that Deri and Shas remain important partners of the right-wing bloc.