Politics is not a clean game. When you call someone a politician, you’re not paying him a compliment. Politics, however, is a reality in our imperfect world.
In 1984, many Sephardim realized that their traditional political allegiance to the Likud party was no longer serving them well, and, for that matter, neither was their support for the haredi and Ashkenazi Agudah party. They felt they were being patronized by both and that their interests were not being met. The conclusion that their numbers were being used for the political gains of others spurred them to form Israel’s third-largest party, Shas. It would represent them from that point on.
And this it has done. Shas today has its own nationwide school system; it offers social assistance to those in need and at a level not seen before; and it continues to vigorously demand a fair share of the national budget for a sector of Israeli society that, historically, had not been a priority.
For these efforts, it’s equally maligned by the haredi Ashkenazi community and the secular Israeli one. The latter perceives Shas as a party of political opportunists who would stoop ever so low in order to advance their political agenda. The former resents the party for having usurped its traditional role as the sole champion of religious causes.
It’s true that, over the years, Shas has sat in governments that have signed peace treaties and in others that have not. It has remained in coalitions that have been fiscally conservative and in others that have been more liberal. The debacles of the Oslo accords and the Gaza withdrawal were pursued by governments that included Shas, even though Shas was against the pullout. Indeed, today, Shas sits in the governing coalition, despite its “non-negotiable” stance on the division of Jerusalem.
Because of all this, in the eyes of many, Shas is seen as a party that lacks a compass, a party that will bend any which way to advance its own interests.
But one can’t blame a person or thing for being exactly what they or it are supposed to be. Shas is, quite evidently, a political party (although, personally, I believe that it’s much more than that – it’s also a social, religious and economic movement). Undeniably, it’s a very successful political force, one to be reckoned with. For better or worse, it’s part of a parliamentary system of government that breeds small parties, which in turn necessitate coalitions in order for any sort of government to function.
Politics in general, and coalitions in particular, are rife with backroom deals, crassness, cynics and unsavory alliances. All this is a reality. This is the system, and it’s not the fault of any one party. Shas is only playing its role – and playing it very well, thank you very much – on this political playing field.
The only difference is that for Shas, politics is not about power for its own sake. Rather, it’s about advancing the interests of a significant segment – indeed, half – of the Israeli population that wasn’t being represented before.
Shas’ mandate is to remedy this.
