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Shinui ( he, שִׁינּוּי, lit. ''Change'') was a
Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
,
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
, and
anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
liberal party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
and political movement in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. The party twice became the third-largest in the
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...
, but both occasions were followed by a split and collapse; in
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
, the party won 15 seats as part of the
Democratic Movement for Change The Democratic Movement for Change (, ''Tnu'a Demokratit LeShinui''), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Dash (), was a short-lived and initially highly successful centrist political party in Israel. Formed in 1976 by numerous well-known non-pol ...
, but the alliance split in 1978, and Shinui was reduced to two seats at the next elections. In
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
, the party won 15 seats alone, but lost them all three years later after most of its MKs left to form new parties. The party was a member of
Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
until 2009. Though it had been the standard-bearer of
economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic libera ...
and
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a si ...
in Israel for 30 years, the formation of
Kadima Kadima ( he, קדימה, lit=''Forward'') was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement pl ...
robbed Shinui of its natural constituency, and in January 2006 the party split into small factions, none of which managed to overcome the 2% threshold needed to enter the Knesset.


History


1970s

As Israel made its transition from a developing nation into an economically prosperous one, a highly educated middle class emerged, tracing its historical political orientation to Labor Zionism. Many of these Israelis banded together to form Shinui. Shinui was established by business people and academics in 1974, following the 1973 Arab–Israeli
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...
, which shook the Israeli public. Prior to the 1977 elections, it formed an alliance with several other small liberal parties. Initially, the party was called Democrats–Shinui, but was soon changed to the ''
Democratic Movement for Change The Democratic Movement for Change (, ''Tnu'a Demokratit LeShinui''), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Dash (), was a short-lived and initially highly successful centrist political party in Israel. Formed in 1976 by numerous well-known non-pol ...
'', and, as with many parties in Israel, became popularly known by its acronym, ''Dash''. The new party caught the public's imagination, with over 37,000 people signing up as members within a few weeks of its foundation. It also pioneered the use of
primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...
to choose its electoral list, something that was intended to show its democratic credentials and prevent cronyism. Previously, in Israel, party lists had been decided upon by the parties' committees, but since the late 1970s, almost many parties in Israel (with the exception of the ultra-Orthodox ones,
Shas Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...
and United Torah Judaism; and many of the
centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...
parties,
Yesh Atid Yesh Atid ( he, יֵשׁ עָתִיד, , There Is a Future) is a liberal political party in Israel. Founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, it seeks to represent what it considers the centre of Israeli society: the secular middle class. It focuses pri ...
,
Hosen Hosen ( he, חֹסֶן, חוסן, ''lit.'' Strength) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located near Ma'alot-Tarshiha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was establishe ...
, Telem, and Kulanu) has followed Dash's lead and adopted the primaries system. The new party won 15 seats, the best performance by the third party since the 1961 elections. This made it the third-largest party after
Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. ...
's
Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel S ...
and the Alignment, which had shrunk from 51 to 32 seats. However, Begin was still able to form a narrow 61-seat right-wing coalition with Shlomtzion (
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
's party), the
National Religious Party The National Religious Party ( he, מִפְלָגָה דָּתִית לְאֻומִּית, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit'', commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist moveme ...
, and
Agudat Israel Agudat Yisrael ( he, אֲגוּדָּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, lit., ''Union of Israel'', also transliterated ''Agudath Israel'', or, in Yiddish, ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party re ...
. Dash were invited into the coalition in November 1977, five months after the Knesset term had started. The party picked up several ministerial portfolios: Meir Amit was made
Minister of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ...
and Minister of Communications,
Shmuel Tamir Shmuel M. Tamir ( he, שמואל תמיר, born Shmuel Katznelson; 10 March 1923 – 29 June 1987) was a prominent Israeli independence fighter, lawyer, patriot and Knesset member. After a successful career fighting the British he entered the K ...
became
Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
, and Yigael Yadin was named as Deputy Prime Minister. However, the fact that Dash did not control the balance of power led to internal disagreements over its role. The alliance began to disintegrate, finally splitting in three on 14 September 1978, with seven MKs breaking away to from the Movement for Change and Initiative, which was later renamed Shinui, another seven founding the Democratic Movement, and Assaf Yaguri creating Ya'ad. Shinui (including Amit) and Ya'ad left the coalition, whilst the Democratic Movement, which included Tamir and Yadin, remained in the government. Two Shinui MKs defected to the Alignment, leaving the party with five seats in 1981.


1980s

In the 1981 elections, the party was reduced to two seats. In
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, they won three seats, and were invited to join the
national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nat ...
, but pulled out of the coalition on 26 May 1987. Although the party gained an MK from the Alignment, it lost
Mordechai Virshubski Mordechai Virshuvski ( he, מרדכי וירשובסקי, 10 May 1930 – 1 May 2012) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset (and as Deputy Speaker) for several parties between 1977 and 1992. Biography Born in Leipzig i ...
to Ratz. The party was renamed Shinui – The Center Party during certain periods. By 1985,
Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
was considering admitting Shinui as a member in place of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
. While the Liberal Party had formed an alliance with Herut in the Likud bloc, Shinui was dovish and allied with the Labor Alignment. Shinui joined Liberal International as a member in 1986.


1990s

In the 1988 elections, Shinui presented a joint list with the New Liberal Party, and was reduced to two seats. Although the party gained an MK from the Alignment, they lost another to Ratz. However, in 1992, it joined with Ratz and
Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...
to form the leftist alliance,
Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Kness ...
. Meretz won 12 seats in the 1992 elections, and was
Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
's major coalition partners in his
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
-led government. In 1996, the three parties decided to officially merge to form a united Meretz party. Although Shinui leader
Amnon Rubinstein Amnon Rubinstein ( he, אמנון רובינשטיין, born 5 September 1931) is an Israeli legal scholar, politician, and columnist. A member of the Knesset between 1977 and 2002, he served in several ministerial positions. He is currently dean ...
supported the merger, most party members sought to distance themselves from the leftist social-democratic elements in Meretz. Two MKs (out of the nine Meretz won in the 1996 elections) broke away to re-establish Shinui as an independent party in 1997 under the leadership of Avraham Poraz. In the run-up to the 1999 elections, the party's first independent electoral contest in 11 years, Poraz tried to brand the party as a representative of the
middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...
, and focused on reducing government intervention in the economy and tax burdens. However, this approach did not yield the party any new voters, and opinion polls predicted that Shinui would not make it past the threshold. Meanwhile, Avraham Poraz's views and political activities, combined with his distance from Meretz's leftist stances and lack of public association between the two, won the support of TV celebrity
Tommy Lapid Yosef "Tommy" Lapid ( he, יוסף "טומי" לפיד, born as Tomislav Lampel, sr-cyr, Томислав Лампел; 27 December 1931 – 1 June 2008) was a Yugoslav-born Israeli radio and television presenter, playwright, journalist, politi ...
, who was known for his fierce rhetoric against religious coercion. As a result of last-minute negotiations between the two, the party changed its name to Shinui – the Secular Movement, and reserved the most electable positions on the Shinui list to Lapid and his associates at the expense of established Shinui members. For example, Lapid himself, who was not a party member at the time, was given the first place on the list, traditionally reserved to the party leader, while Poraz (who remained Shinui's formal party leader) was relegated to second place. In the elections, Shinui won 6 seats, and announced its refusal to join any coalition that includes the ultra-Orthodox parties
Shas Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...
and United Torah Judaism. As a result of this relative success in the 1999 elections, Lapid and his representatives formally joined the Shinui party, with the party leadership passing from Poraz to Lapid.


2000s

In the 2003 elections, the party won 15 seats, making it the third-largest in the Knesset.
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
invited the party to form a secular coalition, with Shinui taking several key ministerial positions, including the Internal Affairs ministry, a key position in the secular-religious struggle. The party used its bargaining power to close down the Religious Affairs ministry. Shinui presented itself as centrist on security issues.


Paritzky affair

In July 2004, a tape recording of Shinui MK and Minister of Infrastructure Yosef Paritzki was exposed. In the tape, Paritzki was heard to ask a private investigator to investigate the actions of his Shinui colleague Avraham Poraz. The private investigator was probably paid by the
workers' union The Workers' Union was a general union based in the United Kingdom, but with some branches in other countries. During the 1910s, it was the largest general union in the UK, but it entered a rapid decline in the 1920s, and eventually became part ...
of Israel's Power Company (IPC), which wanted to prevent a law bill by Poraz denying the IPC workers many privileges they currently hold. In response, Shinui publicly denounced and condemned Paritzki, and asked Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
to fire Paritzki from the cabinet, and called on Paritzki to resign from the Knesset and leave Shinui. Paritzki refused, and blamed Shinui and other factors in a plot against him; he eventually formed his own party,
Tzalash Tzalash ( he, צל"ש, an acronym for ''Tziyonut Liberaliyut Shivyon'', ( he, ציונות ליברליות שוויון) lit. ''Zionism Liberalism Equality'') was a one-man political faction in Israel. Background Tzalash was formed after MK a ...
. A criminal investigation was ended without any indictment or any further legal proceedings.


Religious parties join the coalition

In August 2004, Sharon initiated coalition negotiations with several other parties after he lost the government majority required to support his disengagement plan. Although he preferred to form a Likud–Labor–Shinui "secular unity" government, this was thwarted by Likud MKs. Sharon then started negotiations with Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ). Although Shinui had vowed not to sit in a coalition with either party, after significant pressure from Sharon, and to avoid being blamed for thwarting the implementation of the disengagement plan, Lapid retracted his vow, and agreed to let UTJ join the coalition if they would agree to the government's principles.


Shinui out of the cabinet

On 1 December 2004, Shinui voted against Sharon's 2005 budget, which included subsidies to UTJ projects. In response, Sharon fired the Shinui ministers from the cabinet. On 10 January 2005, Labor joined the coalition, replacing Shinui. However, the party continued to support the disengagement and
Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
Binyamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
's financial reforms. Following its departure from the government, the party formed a Shadow cabinet and was renamed Shinui – Party for the Secular and the Middle Class.


Poraz affair and party split

In June 2005, Poraz was confronted by party activists who accused him and Lapid of dictatorial control of the party, and was recorded by them offering vacation flights out of the country and other financial favours. The tape reached ''Maariv'', which at the time was running its "Where is the Shame" anti-corruption campaign led by its editor
Amnon Dankner Amnon Dankner ( he, אמנון דנקנר, February 5, 1946 – April 5, 2013) was an Israeli newspaper editor and author. He was the editor of the mass-circulation daily ''Maariv'' for six years. Biography Amnon Dankner was born in Jerusalem. Hi ...
and top columnist Dan Margalit. However, the affair generated little publicity, as the party was outside the government. Nevertheless, the issues were brought to a head in September 2005 when Rubinstein criticized Lapid for stifling criticism and not engaging efforts to expand the party's membership. On 12 January 2006, the party held internal primary elections in preparation for the elections that year. In a surprise result, Ron Levintal beat Poraz in the contest for second place on the party's list behind Lapid (who was re-elected with 53% of the votes). This resulted in the party splitting, with five MKs ( Poraz, Ilan Shalgi,
Meli Polishook-Bloch Meli Polishook-Bloch ( he, מלי פולישוק-בלוך, born 14 January 1953) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Shinui and the Secular Faction between 2003 and 2006. Biography Born in Ra'anana, Polishoo ...
, Eti Livni, and Roni Brizon) leaving the party to form a new party they claimed would represent the "real Shinui". On 25 January, Lapid resigned as party chairman, and left the party, declaring it no longer worthy of support. By then, a total of eleven MKs had left Shinui and formed a new party, the Secular Faction (later renamed Hetz), led by Poraz and supported by Lapid. After
Yigal Yasinov Yigal Yasinov ( he, יגאל יאסינוב, born 27 April 1966) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Shinui, HaOlim the National Union and Yisrael Beiteinu between 2003 and 2006. Biography Born in Kharkiv i ...
also left the party, Shinui was left with only two MKs, Ehud Rassabi and Ilan Leibovitch. Before the elections, Levintal made several conciliatory gestures toward Hetz, attempting negotiations with them, the anti-corruption
Tafnit Tafnit ( he, תפנית ''Turnaround'') was an Israeli political party and a social movement established by the ''Aluf'' in reserve Uzi Dayan. History Tafnit was established as a social movement. On 25 December 2005 Dayan announced that the move ...
party led by Uzi Dayan, and former Prime Minister
Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...
over the prospect of forming a united front, but to no avail. In the election, Shinui won just 4,675 votes, 0.16% of the total, well below the 2% (62,741 votes)
electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
. Hetz won only 10,113 votes, meaning that both parties lost their Knesset representation.


Since the 2006 Knesset elections

The party did not run in the 2009 Knesset elections, and has not run in any subsequent national elections. It participated in combination with other parties, however, in the 2008 municipal elections in Haifa (led by Shlomo Gilboa), and won two seats. Shinui also participated in Tel Aviv-Yafo under the name Tel Avivim (led by Ron Levintal), but did not win any seats. In 2012, Tommy Lapid's son,
Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( he, יָאִיר לַפִּיד, transliterated: , ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician and former journalist who has been serving as the 14th prime minister of Israel since 1 July 2022. He previously served as the alt ...
, formed
Yesh Atid Yesh Atid ( he, יֵשׁ עָתִיד, , There Is a Future) is a liberal political party in Israel. Founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, it seeks to represent what it considers the centre of Israeli society: the secular middle class. It focuses pri ...
, a secularist, centrist, liberal Zionist party that won 19 seats in the
2013 Knesset elections Early elections for the nineteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 22 January 2013. Public debate over the Tal Law had nearly led to early elections in 2012, but they were aborted at the last moment after Kadima briefly joined the government. Th ...
, making it the Kneeset's second-largest party, and 11 seats in the 2015 Knesset elections. Yesh Atid is widely considered to be in the same tradition as Shinui, and has largely absorbed its electoral base.


Ideology


Religion and state

Despite nearly 30 years of public support of liberal-
capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...
economic and social policies, its best known platform plank is a call for separation of
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
and
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
within the confines of Zionist ideology. It demands
civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a ...
(although it has opposed a bill to enact it in March 2004), the operation of
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
, businesses, theaters, etc., on
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...
, removal of laws concerning selling and importing non-
kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
food, drafting of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the
IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...
, and a halt to payments to
yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...
students. Because of such demands, and the inflammatory tone of its current leadership, it was sometimes accused of being
anti-religious Antireligion is opposition to religion. It involves opposition to organized religion, religious practices or religious institutions. The term ''antireligion'' has also been used to describe opposition to specific forms of supernatural worship ...
or hating the religious, and so, some, including many
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
people who would otherwise agree with its platform, would not vote for it. The party's official position was that it does not oppose religion, but merely seeks to mend the inequities that exist because of religion. Their television campaign for the 2006 elections showed ultra-Orthodox Jews dragging onto secular voter, and as the secular man votes for Shinui, all the ultra-Orthodox vanish in midair. Shinui supported
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...
, and conforming to its liberal orientation, Shinui adopted a unanimous resolution to create an in-party forum for gay,
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
,
bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...
, and
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
people.


Economy

Economically, Shinui supported a
free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
,
privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
of public assets, and a lowering of taxes, especially taxes on the
upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
. The party also objected to the introduction of a progressive
estate tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an ...
.


Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Shinui's position on
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...
was in accord with the mainstream centrist consensus. It supported achieving peace with the Palestinians even at the cost of territorial concessions. Shinui also supported the anti-terrorist policies of
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
's government, such as the killing of
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...
leader
Ahmed Yassin Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin ( ar, الشيخ أحمد إسماعيل حسن ياسين; 1 January 1937 – 22 March 2004) was a Palestinian politician and imam who founded Hamas, a militant Islamist and Palestinian nationalist organiza ...
. Shinui supported negotiation with the Palestinians concerning the final status and a Palestinian state, which would include removal of
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
s and withdrawal from most of the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and Gaza. It asserted that both the Right and Left misled the public - the Right by claiming that only force will solve the problem, and the Left by claiming that there is a Palestinian partner for
peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
. Shinui strongly supported the
Israeli West Bank barrier The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian ...
and the disengagement plan.


Political ethics and the fight against corruption

Shinui proclaimed itself as a defender of political purity and lawful conduct. It promised to set an example for an uncorrupted party whose members are not suspected of involvement in criminal activity or financial irregularities. Shinui saw itself as an antithesis to
Shas Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...
, many of whose MKs have been convicted in various corruption probes. Accordingly, Lapid requested and received the Justice and Internal Affairs ministries when in government (the latter having been formerly held by
Shas Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...
). Shinui also frequently praised the
Supreme Court of Israel ar, المحكمة العليا , image = Emblem of Israel dark blue full.svg , imagesize = 100px , caption = Emblem of Israel , motto = , established = , location = Givat Ram, Jerusalem , coordina ...
as a guardian of the law and moral values.


Leaders of Shinui


Election results


See also

* Liberalism in Israel * Civil marriage in Israel


References


External links


Shinui - The Centre Party
Knesset website
Shinui - The Secular Movement
Knesset website
Shinui - Party for the Secular and the Middle Class
Knesset website {{Authority control Liberal parties in Israel Zionist political parties in Israel Political parties established in 1974 Secularist organizations Secularism in Israel Separation of church and state 1974 establishments in Israel