SHAS The Sephardic Torah Guardians
EVAN LANGWEILER
TRINITY COLLEGE, SPRING 2007
MODERN ISRAELI CULTURE, PROFESSOR LEVANA POLATE
CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PAGE ON ISRAELI CINEMA
When Israel was established as a state in 1948, great amounts of Middle Eastern and North African Jews
came to Israel to be part of a free and democratic state. At that point in time, the leadership in Israel was made up of
mostly secular Ashkenazi Jews who were very strict in their orthodoxy, less so than their Sephardic counterparts.
Ashkenazi Jews in Israel were proud of the fact that Israel was taking the role of a modern Western society and saw the
Sephardic neighbors as primitive and wanted them to abandon their religious traditions of their former Middle Eastern
homelands.
During the first 20 years of Israeli statehood, the Sephardic Jews did not become politicized and became a part of the
Ashkenazi religious movements Aguddat Israel and Mizrachi, which eventually became the National Religious Party. The
National Religious Party was founded in 1956 and it's main platform was to enrich educational programs, cultural
projects preserving Israeli history and among other things, looking at issues concerning the selling of non-Kosher food
in specific areas, and prohibiting transportation and public activities on the Sabbath.
SHAS HISTORY
In the mid 1970's the differing cultural traditions of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews came to a head.
Sephardic Jews wanted their own say, especially when it came to the voices of North African Jewish immigrants to Israel
as well as other Jews from Arab backgrounds. The SHAS party was established in 1984 and was developed in an attempt
to provide another option outside of what were considered to be the more elitist Ashkenazi communities in Israel society.
The SHAS party became very influential, very fast. SHAS was founded by a former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yossef who at
age 84 is still the SHAS party's spiritual advisor.
Former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yossef
After the 1984 elections SHAS has gained significant growth in voter support and influence within the government.
SHAS utilized a multimedia campaign more effective than any other before. SHAS used pictures, videos, symbols, and
other catchy propaganda to reach out to younger voters, and people from a diversity of communities. The main message
was that "SHAS would help bring families back to their individual and collective religious roots."
Aaron Willis, Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University notes on SHAS that:
In political terms, Shas has played the game well, leveraging its position to gain the most from coalition agreements with the larger parties. However, in its own terms Shas is "not a political party" but rather "a religious movement [t'nuah]." Largely appealing to sentiments of "ethnic pride" and "religious tradition" among Israel's Sephardic communities, Shas has portrayed itself as a "peoples' movement" with a mandate for social and spiritual renewal. (1)
In the most recent SHAS election, the political platform and party rhetoric centered on the revitalization of Sephardic religious
and social life. SHAS asked for more money for ritual baths and synagogues, and torah education. By creating SHAS torah
day-schools, Sephardic Jews could have an option, rather than sending their children to state run schools.
The SHAS party is
currently led by Eliyahu Yishai, who was elected as part of the SHAS party in
1996. 
Eliyahu
Yishai
SCANDAL!!!
In 1999, SHAS shocked
political pundits by winning 17 Knesset seats, making it the third largest
party, slightly more than
Likud, the
center-right party in Israel. Shas joined Ariel Sharon's national unity
government in March 2001. Prior to the 1999
elections the former leader of Israel's SHAS party, Aryeh Deri was arrested and jailed on charges of corruption. He was found
guilty of taking $155,000 in bribes when he was Israel's Intererior Minister. Deri was sentenced to six years but only served two
of those six years.
MAIN SHAS POLITICAL PLATFORMS (Israeli Votes 2006)
--- PEACE PROCESS---
SHAS does not outright oppose the "Land for Peace" principle when talking about the Arab/Israeli conflict. The
"Land for Peace" proposal would make for Israel to relinquish control of the territories it occupied in 1967. This proposal
would be in return for peace and Israeli recognition by Palestine. SHAS supports autonomy for Palestinians, but opposes a
Palestinian state. They also oppose the division of Jerusalem.
---DEMOGRAPHICS---
SHAS does support Jewish immigration to Israel but is apprehensive about the amount of non-Jews
immigrating to Israel under the Law of Return. SHAS believes there should be a better definition of "Who is a Jew?"
---ECONOMY and SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS---
SHAS is concerned with providing resources for the poor and underprivileged, especially among North African Jewish
immigrants and other Sephardim. SHAS wants to be seen as the alternative to the elitist Ashkenazi communities in Israel. A
major concern is preserving and developing an ultra-orthodox school system that provides an education true to the teachings
of the Torah
---SEPARATION OF RELIGION AND STATE---
SHAS supports army exemption for religious scholars and amending the Law of Return to reflect Jewish Law. With a
coalition with Lukid, United Torah Judiasm formalized the exemption of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from military
service. Yeshiva students will be granted an exemption from military service as long as they continue to study at least 45 hours
a week, and are not employed. At the age of 22, a yeshiva student will have to choose between continuing studies, or joining
the work force and fulfilling shortened military obligations.
Sources.
(1) http://www.geocities.com/alabasters_archive/shas_political_power.html
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/1272.htm
Images
http://www.israelimages.com/medium/14036.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41447000/jpg/_41447726_shas.jpg
http://ct.pbase.com/t1/71/626271/4/58679378.IMG_2208.jpg
