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{{dablink|"Shas" may also refer to the '''Shisha Sedarim''' (six orders) of the [[Mishnah]] and [[Talmud]].}}
{{Infobox_Israeli_Political_Party |
party_name = Shas |
colorcode = #013068 |
party_logo = [[Image:Shas logo.png|Shas party logo]] |
leader = [[Eli Yishai]]|
foundation = [[1984]] <br>by Rabbi [[Ovadia Yosef]] and Rabbi [[Elazar Shach]] |
MPheight = 17 ([[Israeli legislative election, 1999|1999]]) |ar
MPcurrent = 12 (2006) |
ideology = [[Yalkut Yosef]] <br>[[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi Judaism]] <br>[[Populism]] |
headquarters = [[Jerusalem]] |
international = |Various Sephardi Batei Dinim
european = |
colours = |
website = [http://www.shasnet.org.il shasnet.org.il] |
}}
'''Shas''' ({{lang-he|ש"ס}}) is a [[List of political parties in Israel|political party]] in [[Israel]], primarily representing [[Haredi Judaism|Ultra-orthodox]] [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi]] and [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] [[Judaism]]. The original name of Shas is the '''The Worldwide Sephardic Association [of] Torah Keepers''' ({{lang-he|התאחדות הספרדים העולמית שומרי תורה}}).

As a result of the [[Israeli legislative election, 2006|2006 elections]], Shas has 12 seats in the Knesset and is tied with [[Likud]] for the third-highest number of seats. Following the election, Shas joined the governing coalition and holds four cabinet posts. Its current leader, [[Eli Yishai]], is deputy prime minister.

== History ==

Shas was founded in [[1984]] prior to the [[Israeli legislative election, 1984|elections]] in the same year, through the merger of regional lists established in 1983. The party was formed under the leadership of [[Rabbi]] [[Ovadia Yosef]] (a former Israeli [[Chief rabbi]]), who remains its spiritual leader today. In founding the party, Rabbi Yosef received strategic help and guidance from Rabbi [[Elazar Shach]] (1898-2001), the leader of Israel's non-Hasidic Haredi [[Ashkenazi Jews]] (known as the "[[Mitnagdim]]" by some.)

The party was mired in scandal after the indictment and subsequent conviction and imprisonment of its former party leader, [[Aryeh Deri]], on corruption charges in 1999. While Rabbi Yosef distanced the party from Deri and installed Yishai as the new party head, many Shas voters saw Deri as the victim of a discriminatory political witch-hunt and continue to support him. However, he is still considered the architect of the movement, and yet is one of the figures in Israel who has changed [[Israeli Society]] for the better, raising the levels of [[QoL]] of [[Mizrahi]], [[Sephardi]] and [[Ashkenazi]] Israeli refugees up to the heights of those who live in other [[Developed countries]], and thus is seen as movement of [[revoluntionary change]] in the world of Israel Society's [[hypermobilisation]], although has been criticized by the [[National Religious Party]] and [[National Union (Israel)|National Union]], for not being Zionist enough, in response to parties such as [[Kadimah]] and [[Labor Party (Israel)|Labor]], in such coalition deals.

Following Deri's conviction, Shas gained 17 seats in the [[Israeli legislative election, 1999|1999 elections]], its strongest showing since its formation. They then were predicted 26 seats in the next election, but its strength was reduced to 11 seats in the [[Israeli legislative election, 2003|2003 election]], and in the [[Israeli legislative election, 2006|2006 elections]] it added one seat for a total of 12 in the current [[Knesset]].

Shas is a strong advocate of the [[Halacha]] playing a pivotal role and providing a fulcrum for the operation of the state and its identity, such as laws prohibiting various activities on the [[Shabbat]]. Shas has a socially conservative agenda, while also supporting generous welfare payments, especially for yeshiva students. Its policy toward the [[Arab]]s has been relatively flexible, although it generally supports the [[Greater Israel]] idea united under the crown of the Mizrahi Torah, in accordance to Ha[[Maran]] Rabbi [[Ovadia Yosef]]'s Shlita flexible foreign policy derivatives. They have never taken an active measure to supporting the [[Gush Emunim]] movement and don't relatively care about the [[Israeli Settlements]], and probably are more closer to [[Agudat Yisrael]] than the [[Tkuma]] or [[Hazit]]. Shas, however, has at various times been able to exert disproportionate influence by gaining control of the balance of power within the context of the traditionally narrow margin between Israel's large parties, [[Labor Party (Israel)|Labor]] and [[Likud]], now joined by [[Kadima]].

The majority of Shas voters are themselves not Ultra-orthodox. Many of its voters are [[Modern Orthodox]] and 'traditional' [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahim]] and [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardim]]. Some [[Druze]] and pragmatic [[National Religious Party|Mafdal]]niks (supporters of the National Religious Party) also vote for Shas, due to its alignment with the promotion of an 'authentic Middle Eastern' [[Israeli culture]], which fits well with traditional [[Zionist]] beliefs of a revival of authentic Jewish culture. However, they are still representing, by principle and not practise, their [[Sephardi]] and [[Mizrahi]] Haredi Jewish Sectors in the [[Knesset]].

==Beliefs and political platform==

See SHAS Party website [http://www.shasnet.org.il]

==Controversy==

Since 1999, several of Shas's MKs, including [[Aryeh Deri]], [[Raphael Pinhasi]], [[Yair Lev]], [[Ofer Hugi]] and [[Yair Peretz]] have been convicted of offences including fraud and forgery. In addition, current MK Shlomo Benizri is currently on trial for accepting bribes.

== Election to 17th Knesset (2006) ==
Twelve Shas candidates were elected to the 17th Knesset:

# [[Eli Yishai]]
# [[Yitzhak Cohen]]
# [[Amnon Cohen]]
# [[Meshulam Nahari]]
# [[Ariel Atias]]
# [[Shlomo Benizri]]
# [[David Azoulay]]
# [[Yitzhak Vaknin]]
# [[Nissim Ze'ev]]
# [[Ya'akov Margi]]
# [[Chaim Amsalam]]
# [[Avraham Michaeli]]

== Joining the government ==

Shas is part of the current governing coalition, installed on May 4, 2006, which also includes the larger [[Kadima]] and [[Labor Party (Israel)|Labor]] parties, the smaller [[Gil (political party)|Gil]] and, since October 2006, [[Yisrael Beytenu]]. In the new government, Shas party leader Yishai is Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, and Deputy Prime Minister. Also in the cabiner are Atias as Minister of Communications, and Nahari and Yitzhak Cohen as [[Minister Without Portfolio|Ministers Without Portfolio]].

==External links==
*[http://www.shasnet.org.il Shas party website]
*[http://exc.com/JoelHoffman/Resources/Israel2006-1.html All the Israeli political parties.]

{{Israeli political parties}}
{{OrthodoxJudaism}}

[[Category:Political parties in Israel]]
[[Category:Haredi Judaism in Israel]]
[[Category:Zionist political parties in Israel]]
[[Category:Orthodox Jewish political parties]]
[[Category:Sephardi Jews topics]]

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Shas - Revision history

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