Shas has gone full gevalt in its closing campaign preparations, issuing videos bewailing the imminent destruction of the party enterprise and the inexorable descent into penury for the haredi community if Blue and White wins the election and Yair Lapid enters the government. One of the party's recent campaign videos warned that if Lapid takes office, it would lead to gay pride marches at the Western Wall, the cancellation of child-welfare subsidies and “pork in every shopping mall.” Another campaign video released Monday night showed Shas' late revered spiritual lead Rabbi Ovadia Yosef saying the prayers for forgiveness at the Western Wall, with mournful music and entreaties to the rabbi to intercede with Heaven so that those on earth “can continue your life's work,” that is, the Shas Party. Its fear is well-founded, but likely exaggerated, as polls have consistently given it between five and seven seats, although Likud's own gevalt campaign could possibly some more voters from Shas. The party is presenting the threat as so severe that is has organized a mass prayer service at the Western Wall in the presence of all the members of its Council of Torah Sages as well as other senior Sephardi rabbis, where they will read the entire book of Psalms. Although the party seems likely to lose some of the seven Knesset seats it held during the last Knesset, it would appear likely that the entreaties on Tuesday morning will be effective given that Shas' core electorate of Sephardi haredi voters is likely to turnout en masse to ensure the party's continued survival.
