In an apparent bid to hold onto moderate voters turned off by its hardline stance on IDF conscription, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party on Saturday night launched its election campaign with a video featuring a family waiting for their son to arrive home from the army for Shabbat dinner.
As the young soldier runs in, he is hugged by his father and brother, a full-time yeshiva student, and a message runs on the screen stating that “more than 30,000 conscripts and career soldiers voted for Shas in the last election.”
“One son studies in a yeshiva, and his brother serves in the IDF, each contributing to the people of Israel in their own way,” the party said in a statement.
“This is the story of the Shas family: faith, tradition, unity and love of Israel,” the party said. “Torah students and IDF soldiers, we are all one family.”
The message stands in stark contrast to its actions in recent years, where it has been at the forefront off efforts to enshrine legislation that would grant an almost complete exemption of ultra-Orthodox men from military service.
