Who they are

• Founded 1984 as “Shomrei Sefarad” in protest at Agudat Yisrael's thin Sephardi representation, under Rav Ovadia Yosef's Council of Torah Sages. Peak: 17 seats in 1999. (IDI party page)
• Deri has led it since 2013 (and 1990–99). Former Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef was chosen “to lead” in 2026. (JPost, Aug 20, 2026)

Who votes for them

• 2022: 392,964 votes, 8.25%, 11 seats. (IDI; Wikipedia)
• Won 28% of Haredi voters and 10.5% of national-religious voters in 2022. (IDI, Jun 28, 2026)
• IDI's Malach: “at least three or four Knesset seats' worth of voters who are simply not Haredi.” (Shomrim, Jun 30, 2026)
• First-time voters: 3% overall, 20% of Haredi first-timers. (N12 via JPost, Sep 23, 2026)

Where they stand

Haredi draft

Deri: “The army doesn't want haredi soldiers, get that into your head.” Bill to enshrine Torah study as a basic value. (JPost, Sep 3 and Sep 8, 2026)

Courts

“Fundamentally reform the judicial system and return power to the people and their elected representatives.” (Ynet, Sep 22, 2026)

War & Gaza

Supports dismantling Hamas; opposes indefinite Israeli control (JPost's summary). (JPost, Sep 8, 2026)

West Bank

Opposes a Palestinian state; “not central” to its campaign. (Ynet, Sep 30, 2026)

Religion & state

Orthodox control of marriage, conversion and kashrut; opposes civil marriage and expanded non-Orthodox prayer at the Kotel. (JPost, Sep 8, 2026)

Economy

Deri: “It is unacceptable that a poor Haredi child would not receive the minimum support as a poor Arab child does.” (Times of Israel, Dec 9, 2025)

Names on the list

• No. 2Yinon Azoulay
• No. 6Lt.-Col. (res.) Dror Amos, Haifa religious council head; 25 years in the IDF
• No. 11Yosef Alnathanov, Bukharan community

JPost, Sep 8, 2026

Coalition pledges

• “We support Netanyahu, period.” (Deri, Jul 16, 2026)
• Reported plan to sit in opposition until a draft law passes; anonymous source, “not a formal decision.” (Maariv via JPost, Sep 17, 2026)

In their words

“Will Bibi Netanyahu repent? Not a chance… Eisenkot, perhaps he will.”

Seats in each poll

Average 7.4 across 5 polls (Channel 14 not included). Kan 11 (Sep 28) did not report this party separately. Channel 14 figure is the latest in our register; its date is not given.

Bios

Aryeh Deri. Born 1959 in Meknes. Co-founded Shas and became the youngest minister. Convicted of bribery in 1999 and served 22 months; after a 2022 tax plea, the High Court barred him from serving as a minister in January 2023.

Bio source: Wikipedia, accessed Oct 2026, via the research memo and party registers.