1.
Ahead of the election campaign, which will take place in the month of Elul or shortly after, Aryeh Deri is demanding that the Rishon LeZion Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attend rallies to encourage him, perhaps even descend from a helicopter in memory of the good old days, when his image with the cloak will remind the masses of the Maran Gra"a Yosef zt"l whom they miss so much, and a large part of them will vote in his honor.
2.
For this to happen, Aryeh Deri needs to initiate a process that will ultimately see Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef appointed president of Shas' Council of Torah Sages. Otherwise, every event will turn into one big mess, as happened last night at the 'Pras Rishon LeZion' conference at the Nation Buildings.
Indeed, the followers of the Rashaltz - even if not all of them, even if it is a handful - will not maintain manners and silence.
3.
Why, actually, not?
Because today Aryeh Deri controls the Shas party unchallenged. He can continue to control the ministries that his ministers abandoned, and reap jobs like mushrooms after the rain.
All he needs is for Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, as president of the 'council', to come out and declare that 'Bibi is a liar' or 'he is not believed' and ruin the entire campaign.
Today, Aryeh Deri is maneuvering, not at all like his little sister, the 'Torah Flag.' But with Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef at the helm, the decision will no longer be entirely his. Netanyahu, or any other prime minister, will also know that he needs to make a pilgrimage to the president of the 'Council,' and not just woo Deri.
Deri will be able to convince, influence the president of the 'council', perhaps even be "too independent," as Maran the Gra"a zt"l said about him in the famous tape. But in general, it will be difficult for him not to listen to Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef. It is also not certain that this time the Chief Rabbi will remain silent about disobeying his words - and will only open his heart after years, as Rabbi Ovadia zt"l did, who revealed what was on his heart decades later, just because he did not want to return Deri to the party leadership.
What will Deri actually do? Time will tell. But, rest assured, the struggle is really not easy for him.
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