Gadi Eisenkot demands haredi party Shas remove new election ad invoking IDF soldiers

Key Points:

• The Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Solberg issued an interim order for the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party to remove its election campaign video, which appeared to support IDF conscription amid controversy over Shas's stance on the draft.
• The order followed a demand from the Yashar Party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, alleging the video violated election propaganda laws by implying IDF support for Shas, despite Shas's history of promoting draft evasion policies.
• The video, showing a family with one son in the IDF and another studying at a yeshiva, was removed after the order; Shas defended it as representing unity between Torah scholars and soldiers and refuting claims that it supports draft evasion.
• Yashar criticized Shas for using IDF soldiers in propaganda while backing legislation favoring draft evasion and highlighted Shas leader Arye Deri's prior pride in family members who do not serve.
• Shas has faced growing criticism over its draft stance ahead of the October elections, having sponsored controversial legislation protecting Torah study and freezing arrests of draft evaders, while boycotting coalition votes to push its agenda.