Shas ש״ס | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Aryeh Deri |
| Spiritual Leader | Vacant |
| Founders | Elazar Shach Ovadia Yosef |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Split from | Agudat Yisrael |
| Headquarters | Jerusalem |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position |
|
| Religion | Haredi Judaism (Sephardic) |
| International affiliation | World Zionist Organization |
| Colours | Black,Gold Azure (past) |
| Ballot letters[11] | Hebrew:שס Arabic:شس |
| Knesset | 11 / 120 |
| Most MKs | 17 (1999) |
| Website | |
| shas | |
Shas (Hebrew:ש״ס) is aHaredi religiouspolitical party in Israel.[12] Founded in 1984 byRabbiOvadia Yosef, a former IsraeliSephardichief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013,[13]it primarily represents the interests ofSephardic andMizrahiHaredi Jews.[14]
Shas is the third-largest party in theKnesset as of 2024[update]. Since 1984, it has been part of most governing coalitions, whether the ruling party wasLabor orLikud.
The party was originally calledShom'rei Torah ("Guardians of theTorah"), with the acronym ש״ת, pronounced "Shat" or "Shas". However, Israeli election law requires a party wishing to use letters for their acronym that already appear in the acronym of an existing party to first obtain permission from that party, and theIsraeli Labor Party, whose letters are אמת, refused to grant Shas permission to use the ת. Instead, it was named ש״ס, Shas, an acronym forShomrei S'farad, meaning "Sephardic Guardians".[15][16][17] The name is also a reference to the six orders (Shisha S'darim) of theMishnah and theTalmud, both of which are often referred to by the same acronym, "Shas". The party's legal name is "Hit'akhdut ha-S'pharadim ha-Olamit Shom'rei Torah" (התאחדות הספרדים העולמית שומרי תורה), meaning "International Union of the Sepharadim, Guardians of the Torah".[18]
Shas was founded in 1984, prior to theelections to the eleventh Knesset in the same year, in protest against the small representation of Sephardim in the largelyAshkenaziAgudat Yisrael,[14] through the merger of regional lists which were compiled in 1983. It was originally known as theWorldwide Sephardic Association of Torah Keepers (Hebrew:הִתְאַחֲדוּת הַסְּפָרַדִּים הָעוֹלָמִית שׁוֹמְרֵי תּוֹרָה,Hitahdut HaSfaradim HaOlamit Shomrei Torah). The party was formed under the leadership of former Israeli Chief Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who established a four-member (including himself) Council of Torah Sages and remained the party's spiritual leader until his death. In founding the party, Yosef received strategic help and guidance from RabbiElazar Shach, leader of Israel's non-Hasidic Haredi Ashkenazi Jews.[19] Yosef founded the party in 1984 on the platform of a return to religion and as a counter to an establishment dominated by Ashkenazi Jews of European extraction.[20]
Not all Shas voters areultra-Orthodox Jews. Many of its voters areModern Orthodox andtraditional Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, due to its alignment with the promotion of an "authentic Middle Eastern"Israeli culture, which fits with traditionalZionist beliefs of a revival of authentic, non-EuropeanizedJewish culture. However, it still represents the Sephardi and Mizrahi Haredi Jewish sectors in theKnesset. Shas has at times been able to exert disproportionate influence by gaining control of the balance of power in the Knesset within the context of the traditionally narrow margin between Israel's large parties. Like itsLabor Zionist counterparts (i. e.,Labor andMeretz) that gain votes from thekibbutz movement, Shas gains votes and supports frommoshavim that are inhabited by Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, either Orthodox or non-Orthodox. Also, since it became a member of theWorld Zionist Organization, it gains votes from Orthodox settlers in the West Bank.[citation needed]
In the elections to the eleventh Knesset in 1984, Shas won four seats.[14] FollowingAryeh Deri's conviction on corruption charges in 1999, Shas gained 17 seats in the1999 elections, its strongest showing since its formation. Although 26 seats were projected for the following election had it run in 2001, Shas was reduced to 11 seats in the2003 election because the two-ballot system was amended.[citation needed]
In the2006 elections, it gained one more seat, after running what the BBC called "an aggressive campaign that targeted theneo-conservative economic policies of the previous government",[21] and joinedEhud Olmert'scoalition government, alongsideKadima,Labor,Gil and, between October 2006 and January 2008,Yisrael Beiteinu. In the government, Shas party leader Yishai was Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor andDeputy Prime Minister, whileAriel Atias was Minister of Communications andMeshulam Nahari andYitzhak Cohen wereMinisters without Portfolio.[citation needed]
Following the2009 elections, in which Shas won eleven seats, it joinedBenjamin Netanyahu's coalition government and held four cabinet posts.Eli Yishai, who led the party at that time, was one of four Deputy Prime Ministers andMinister of Internal Affairs.[22][23]
On 4 December 2011, Shas launched its United States affiliate, American Friends of Shas, based in Brooklyn, New York.[18]
Shas won 11 seats in the2013 elections,[24] but chose to form part of the Labor opposition to Netanyahu's new government.Yair Lapid of theYesh Atid party andNaftali Bennett ofThe Jewish Home, who had won more seats and joined the coalition, both favored conscription of the previously exempt Haredi men into Israel's national service and a reduction in state financial support for Haredi families, policies Shas opposes.[citation needed]
In December 2014, Eli Yishai left the Shas party, which he had led for more than a decade. He said he would lead a new religious party in the election scheduled for March 2015. His departure from Shas and Aryeh Deri did not come as a surprise.[25] The party that he formed,Yachad, failed to pass the election threshold.[26] In theensuing election, Shas was accused of tampering with Yachad ballots.[27] They were also accused of creating a straw party with the symbols ofOtzma Yehudit, which was running on a joint list with Yachad during the election.[28] Shas won 7 seats in the election.[29]
In 2017, opinion polling showed that Shas was falling under the election threshold of 3.25%.[30] In response, Shas leaders said that there was a coup attempt in the party.[31] In the same year, a tape was leaked of the party's former spiritual leader, criticizing Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar.[32]
The party won 8 seats in theApril 2019 election, and 9 seats inSeptember 2019. Both elections were inconclusive, and resulted in a third election in2020,[33][34] in which Shas won 9 seats.[35] After the election, a senior Likud minister anonymously toldAl-Monitor that Deri was mediating political coalition talks between Netanyahu andBlue and White leaderBenny Gantz. It was also reported that Deri "might even be open to a new alliance with Blue and White" after the anti-clerical Yesh Atid split from the alliance.[36] Negotiations subsequently resulted in the formation of arotation government between Netanyahu and Gantz, which included Shas. The government collapsed in December 2020 due to failed budget negotiations, resulting in another snap election in2021.[37][38]
Shas won 9 seats in the 2021 election, but remained out of government for the first time since 2013.[39] Later that year, Deri resigned from the Knesset as part of a plea bargain for alleged tax evasion.[40] The new government collapsed after a year, and elections were held in2022, Shas won 11 seats. Shas returned to government, with Deri becoming Interior Minister,Health Mnister andVice Prime Minister. In early 2023, Deri was required to relinquish his ministerial posts due to the plea bargain after a ruling by theSupreme Court.[41] He remained a member of the Knesset and the leader of Shas.[42] Shas' ministers resigned from government in July 2025 over the government's failure to pass a law excluding ultraorthodox youth from the draft, but remain part of the coalition.[43]
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The stated purpose of the party is to "return the crown to the former glory", meaning to protect the religious and cultural heritage of Sephardic Jewry and rectify what it sees as the "continued economic and social discrimination against the Sephardic population of Israel".[44] Focusing on the needs of Sephardic Orthodox Israelis, Shas established its own government-funded religious education system called MaAyan HaHinuch HaTorani, which became popular in poor Sephardic towns, increasing the party's popular support.[18]
Shas advocates for the increased influence ofHalakha, the Jewish religious law, in Israeli society, and actively engages in theBaal teshuva movement, encouraging non-Orthodox Israelis of Sephardic and Mizrahi-Jewish heritage to adopt an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle. Shas is a Haredi religious party, but it has participated in left-wing governments and is often willing to compromise on both religious and economic issues.[9]
At first, Shas followed a moderate policy on theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict, after Yosef had declared that lives were more important than territories,[14] but by the 2010s it had moved to the right, opposing any freeze in Israeli settlement activity in theWest Bank.[18] In addition, it was skeptical towards the U.S.Obama Administration's intentions regarding theIsraeli–Palestinian peace process and began to support a consolidation ofIsraeli settlement interests, especially regardingyeshivas and Jewish holy sites in the West Bank. It further believes in a "United Jerusalem" and supports theGreater Jerusalem plan.[clarification needed] In 2010, Shas joined theWorld Zionist Organization, having made significant changes to its charter.[45]
One of Shas's demands is a compensation package for Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews who were forced to flee their home countries and leave their property behind.[citation needed]
Shas opposes any form of public expression of homosexuality, includingGay Pride parades, especially inJerusalem. Shas MKNissim Ze'ev accused the homosexual community of "carrying out the self-destruction of Israeli society and the Jewish people", calling homosexuals "a plague as toxic asbird flu".[46] However, the party condemns any form of violence againstgay people.[47]
Several Shas MKs, includingAryeh Deri,Rafael Pinhasi,Yair Levy,Ofer Hugi andYair Peretz, have been convicted of criminal offenses that include fraud and forgery. In addition, MKShlomo Benizri was convicted of bribery, conspiring to commit a crime and obstruction of justice on 1 April 2008.[48]
In 2010, Ovadia Yosef cursed the Palestinians as "evil, bitter enemies of Israel" and said that, "Abu Mazen and all these evil people should perish from this world. God should strike them with a plague."Saeb Erekat of the PLO said Yosef's remarks were tantamount to a call for "genocide against Palestinians". Yosef later apologized and wrote to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak: "I support your efforts and praise all the leaders and the peoples — Egyptians, Jordanians and Palestinians — who are partners and wish the success of this important process of achieving peace in our region, and preventing bloodshed. May God grant you longevity and may you succeed in your efforts for peace and may there be peace in our region."[49] Previously, Yosef had called Arabs "vipers" and called for Israel to "annihilate" them.[50] "It is forbidden to be merciful to them. You must send missiles to them and annihilate them. They are evil and damnable."[51] A spokesman later clarified that his comments were only aimed at murderers and terrorists and not the entire Arab world.[50]
In 2020, the party was fined₪7,500 by theCentral Elections Committee for handing out prayer cards at polling stations during the2020 Knesset elections, which were claimed to cure "Corona and every illness and pestilence".[52]
Women activists protested the lack of female representation in Shas by organizing a "No Female Candidate, No Female Vote" campaign. The women said they would not vote for a party that does not include women candidates on its slate and sent an open letter to the Knesset representatives of ultra-Orthodox parties, which was also circulated on social media. Rabbi Mordechai Blau, a senior party member, threatened that women participating in the movement or bucking the party leadership would find their children "banned from Haredi schools" and their employers "boycotted by the community".[53] Shas announced that it would create a women's council within the movement, a step that was welcomed by the campaigners. At the same time, they said: "We will move forward and call on the Haredi factions to enable women to serve as MKs in the Knesset."[54] Eli Yishai said on Israel Radio: "There is nothing in Jewish law that says you can't have a woman as a Knesset member. But our rabbis decide what they decide on every subject and the same goes for this."[55]
When a group of ultra-Orthodox women created their own party,U'Bizchutan, Isaac Bezalel, the Shas spokesman, said: "The Haredi public is not yet open to women serving in the Knesset."[56]
Eleven men serve as members of the Knesset for Shas in the twenty-fifth Knesset:
| Leader | Took office | Left office | Spiritual Leader | Took office | Left office | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Nissim Ze'ev | 1982 | 1984 |  | Ovadia Yosef | 1982 | 2013 |
| 2 | .JPG) | Yitzhak Peretz | 1984 | 1990 | ||||
| 3 | | Aryeh Deri | 1990 | 1999 | ||||
| 4 | .jpg) | Eli Yishai | 1999 | 2012 | ||||
| 5 | .JPG) .jpg) | Triumvirate[a] | 2012 | 2013 | ||||
| (3) | | Aryeh Deri | 2013 | Incumbent | .jpg) | Shalom Cohen | 2013 | 2022 |
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Yitzhak Haim Peretz | 63,605 | 3.07 | 4 / 120 | Coalition | |
| 1988 | 107,709 | 4.72 | 6 / 120 |  2 | Coalition | |
| 1992 | Aryeh Deri | 129,347 | 4.94 | 6 / 120 |  | Coalition(1992–1993) |
| Opposition(1993–1996) | ||||||
| 1996 | 259,796 | 8.51 | 10 / 120 | 4 | Coalition | |
| 1999 | 430,676 | 13.01 | 17 / 120 | 7 | Coalition | |
| 2003 | Eli Yishai | 258,879 | 8.22 | 11 / 120 |  6 | Opposition |
| 2006 | 299,054 | 9.53 | 12 / 120 | 1 | Coalition | |
| 2009 | 286,300 | 8.49 | 11 / 120 | 1 | Coalition | |
| 2013 | 331,868 | 8.75 | 11 / 120 | | Opposition | |
| 2015 | Aryeh Deri | 241,613 | 5.73 | 7 / 120 | 4 | Coalition |
| Apr 2019 | 258,275 | 5.99 | 8 / 120 | 1 | Caretaker | |
| Sep 2019 | 329,834 | 7.44 | 9 / 120 | 1 | Caretaker | |
| 2020 | 352,842 | 7.69 | 9 / 120 | | Coalition | |
| 2021 | 316,008 | 7.17 | 9 / 120 | | Opposition | |
| 2022 | 392,644 | 8.24 | 11 / 120 | 2 | Coalition |
the socially conservative Shas
ש"ס באופן מסורתי מציגה עצמה כמפלגה סוציאל-דמוקרטית, הפועלת לסיוע לחלשים והנזקיים.
המצעים והקמפיינים של ש"ס ושל יהדות התורה בבחירות האחרונות היו הכי סוציאל-דמוקרטיים מבין כל המפלגות היהודיות שהתמודדו לכנסת. חברי הכנסת גפני, ליצמן, מרגי ואחרים משתפים פעולה יום יום עם חברי הכנסת הסוציאל-דמוקרטים המובהקים ביותר במשכן; גפני אף נחשב במשך שנים לסמן השמאלי בוועדת הכספים, ולמי שעצר – לעתים בגופו – מהלכים ניאו-ליברליים של נתניהו.
Shas is subordinate to the authority of the Council of Torah Sages, but its ultimate adjudicators between 1984-1988 were Rabbis Yosef and Shach, and from 1988, Yosef alone [...].For many years, from the founding of Shas and until his death, Rabbi Yosef was president of its Council of Torah Sages. He also determined the composition of rabbis who served on this Council.
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