MK Yaakov Margi, former Shas minister, announced today (Sunday) to Chairman Aryeh Deri that he will not run for the Knesset in the next term.
This will end his parliamentary career after 23 years in the Knesset - to which he was elected in 2003.
Margi, a Shas veteran, has served in key positions in the Knesset and government over the years, and is considered one of the most experienced and veteran figures in the faction.
Margi is the second member of the Shas faction to announce his retirement from political life.
A week ago, MK Moshe Arbel submitted a letter of resignation from the Knesset.
Journalist Yaki Adamker noted that with the departure of Arbel and Margi, "two of the moderate voices in Shas, and in the absence of a significant change in the list for the next Knesset, Shas is one step closer to becoming a distinctly Haredi party, almost like United Torah Judaism.".
MK Yaakov Margi responded to the reports: "The reports about my resignation from the Shas movement are incorrect. In recent days, I spoke with the movement's chairman, Rabbi Aryeh Deri, and expressed my desire not to be included on the list for the next Knesset, after 23 years in which I served as a Knesset member, the movement's CEO, and the Minister of Religious Affairs and Welfare. The movement's chairman asked me to wait with the decision.
""I would like to clarify: I am not resigning from the Shas movement. The Shas movement is my home. Any role assigned to me by the Council of Torah Sages and the chairman of the movement, I will fulfill with dedication and mission.".
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