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Shinui
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| Leader | Ron Levintal |
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| Founded | 1974 |
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| Ideology | Liberalism, centrism, anti-clericalism |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
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| Website www.shinui.org.il |
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Shinui (Hebrew: שינוי, lit. Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal In Politics, centrism usually refers to the political ideal of promoting Moderate policies which land in the middle ground between different political extremes Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes Religious (generally Catholic institutional power and influence real or alleged in all aspects of public and political Liberal International is a Political international for liberal parties. Change) is a Zionist, secular and anti-clerical free market liberal party in Israel. History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the Secularity ( adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from Religion. Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes Religious (generally Catholic institutional power and influence real or alleged in all aspects of public and political A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers This article gives information on liberalism in diverse countries around the world For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The party has twice become the third largest in the Knesset, but on both occasions it was followed by a split and collapse; in 1977 the party won 15 seats as part of the Democratic Movement for Change, but the alliance split in 1978 and Shinui was reduced to two seats at the next elections. For Beit Knesset a Jewish Place of worship, see Synagogue. The Knesset (כנסת lit The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. The Democratic Movement for Change ( Hebrew: תנועה דמוקרטית לשינוי Tenoa'a Demokratit le-Shinui) commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Dash Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981 In 2003 the party won 15 seats alone, but lost them all three years later after most of its MKs left to form new parties. Elections for the 16th Knesset were held in Israel on 28 January 2003. The Elections for the 17th Knesset were held in Israel on 28 March 2006. The party is a member of Liberal International. Liberal International is a Political international for liberal parties.
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History
1970s
Shinui was established by business people and academics in 1974, following the 1973 Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War, which shook the Israeli public. The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War (מלחמת יום הכיפורים transliterated: Milkhemet Yom HaKipurim or מלחמת יום Prior to the 1977 elections it formed an alliance with several other small liberal parties. The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. Initially the party was called Democrats-Shinui, but was soon changed to the Democratic Movement for Change and, as with many parties in Israel, became popularly known by its acronym, Dash. The Democratic Movement for Change ( Hebrew: תנועה דמוקרטית לשינוי Tenoa'a Demokratit le-Shinui) commonly known by its Hebrew 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 to choose its electoral list, something that was intended to show its democratic credentials and prevent cronyism. A primary election ( nominating primary) also referred to simply as a primary, is an election in which voters in a Jurisdiction select candidates Previously in Israel, party lists had been decided upon by the parties' committees, but since the late 1970s, almost every party in Israel (with the exception of the Ultra-orthodox ones, Shas and United Torah Judaism) has followed Dash's lead and adopted the primaries system. Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. Shas (ש״ס is a political party in Israel, primarily representing Haredi Sephardi and Mizrahi Judaism. United Torah Judaism (יהדות התורה המאוחדת Yahadut HaTorah HaMeukhedet; UTJ) is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat
The new party won 15 seats, the best performance by the third party since the 1961 elections. Elections for the fifth Knesset were held in Israel on 15 August 1961 This made it the third largest party after Menachem Begin's Likud and the Alignment, which had shrunk from 51 to 32 seats. (מְנַחֵם בְּגִין Mieczysław Biegun Менахем Вольфович Бегин 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992 was the sixth prime minister of the State of Israel Likud (ליכוד lit Consolidation) is the major centre-right political party in Israel. However, Begin was still able to form a narrow 61-seat right-wing coalition with Shlomtzion (Ariel Sharon's party), the National Religious Party and Agudat Israel. Shlomtzion ( Hebrew: שלומציון a contraction of Shalom-Zion, or Peace-Zion) was an political party in Israel. (אריאל The National Religious Party (מפלגה דתית לאומית Miflaga Datit Leumit, commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, (Hebrew מפד"ל Agudat Israel (אגודת ישראל "Union Israel" also Agudat Yisrael, Agudath Israel, or Agudas Yisroel) began as the original
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 and Minister of Communications, Shmuel Tamir became Minister of Justice and Yadin was named as Deputy Prime Minister. Meir Amit (מאיר עמית born 17 March 1921) was the Director of the Mossad from 1963 to 1968 The Transportation Minister of Israel (currently styled as the Minister of Transportation and Road Safety (שר התחבורה והבטיחות בדרכים Sar HaTakhbura Shmuel M Tamir (שמואל תמיר born Shmuel Katzenelson on 10 March 1923, died 29 June 1987) was a prominent Israeli 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 reform Shinui, another seven founding the Democratic Movement and Assaf Yaguri creating Ya'ad. The Democratic Movement (תנועה דמוקרטית Tenoa'a Demokratit) was a short-lived political party in Israel formed in the aftermath of the spectacular Ya'ad ( Hebrew: יעד Destiny) was a short-lived one-man political party in Israel. 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. Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981 In 1984 they won three seats and were invited to join the national unity government, but pulled out of the coalition on 26 May 1987. Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July 1984 National governments (alternatively national unity governments or national union governments) are broad Coalition governments consisting of all parties (or Although the party gained an MK from the Alignment, it lost Mordechai Virshubski to Ratz. Ratz (רצ officially the Movement for Civil Rights and Peace (Hebrew התנועה לזכויות האזרח ולשלום HaTenoa'a Lizkhuyot HaEzrah VeShalom) The party was renamed Shinui - The Centre Party during certain periods.
1990s
In the 1988 elections Shinui was reduced to two seats. Elections for the twelfth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1988 Although the party gained an MK from the Alignment, they lost another to Ratz. However, in 1992 it joined with Ratz and Mapam to form the leftist alliance Meretz. Mapam (מפ"ם an acronym for Mifleget HaPoalim HaMeuhedet (מפלגת הפועלים המאוחדת lit Meretz-Yachad (מרצ-יחד Vitality - Together) previously known as Meretz and then Yachad, is a left-wing social democratic The new party won 12 seats in the 1992 elections, and were Yitzhak Rabin's major coalition partners in his Labour-led government. Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June, 1992.
In 1996 the three parties decided to officially merge to form a united Meretz party. Although Shinui leader Amnon Rubinstein supported the merger, most party members sought to distance themselves from the leftist social-democratic elements in Meretz. Amnon Rubinstein (אמנון רובינשטיין born 5 September 1931) is an Israeli law scholar politician and columnist 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. Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel alongside the first ever election for Prime Minister on 29 May, 1996.
Prior to the 1999 elections the party was taken over by TV celebrity Tommy Lapid, who was known for his fierce rhetoric against religious coercion. The Elections for the 15th Knesset were held on 17 May 1999 alongside simultaneous elections for Prime Minister. Yosef "Tommy" Lapid (יוסף "טומי" לפיד born Tomislav Lampel (Томислав Лампел December 27, 1931 - The party changed its name to Shinui - the Secular Movement and refused to join any coalition which includes the ultra-orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism. Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. Shas (ש״ס is a political party in Israel, primarily representing Haredi Sephardi and Mizrahi Judaism. United Torah Judaism (יהדות התורה המאוחדת Yahadut HaTorah HaMeukhedet; UTJ) is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat In the elections, Shinui won 6 seats.
2000s
In the 2003 elections the party won 15 seats, making it the third-largest in the Knesset. Elections for the 16th Knesset were held in Israel on 28 January 2003. Ariel Sharon invited the party to form a secular right-wing coalition, with Shinui taking several key ministerial positions, including the Internal Affairs ministry, a key position in the secular-religious struggle. (אריאל The party used its bargaining power to close down the Religious Affairs ministry.
Paritzky affair
In July 2004 a tape recording of Shinui MK and Minister of Infrastructure Yosef Paritzki was exposed. Yosef Yitzhak Paritzky (יוסף יצחק פריצקי born 14 September 1955) is an Israeli attorney politician and columnist 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 of Israel's Power Company (IPC), which wanted to prevent a law bill by Poraz denying the IPC workers many privileges they currently hold. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Electric power is defined as the rate at which Electrical energy is transferred by an Electric circuit.
In response, Shinui publicly denounced and condemned Paritzki and asked Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to fire Paritzki from the cabinet, and called on Paritzki to resign from the Knesset and leave Shinui. (אריאל Paritzki refused and blamed Shinui and other factors in a plot against him; he eventually formed his own party, Tzalash. Tzalash (צל"ש an acronym for Tzionut Libraliot Shivion, (ציונות ליברליות שוויון lit 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. Israel's unilateral disengagement plan ( Hebrew: תוכנית ההתנתקות Tokhnit HaHitnatkut or תוכנית ההינתקות Tokhnit HaHinatkut in 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. 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 Labour joined the coalition, replacing Shinui. However, the party continued to support the disengagement and Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's financial reforms. Finance Ministers of Israel, 1948-present 1948 - 1952 Eliezer Kaplan 1952 - 1963 Levi Eshkol (בִּנְיָמִין "ביבי" נְתַנְיָהוּ Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, born October 21 1949, Tel Aviv) was Following its departure from the government, the party 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, was recorded by them offering vacation flights out of the country and other financial favours. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The tape reached Maariv, which at the time was running its "Where is the Shame" anti-corruption campaign led by its editor Amnon Dankner and top columnist Dan Margalit. Maariv (מַעֲרִיב lit Evening) is a popular Hebrew language Daily newspaper published in Israel. Dan Margalit (דן מרגלית born 1939 is an Israeli Journalist and Publicist. 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. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Yosef "Tommy" Lapid (יוסף "טומי" לפיד born Tomislav Lampel (Томислав Лампел December 27, 1931 -
On 12 January 2006 the party held internal primary elections in preparation for the elections that year. The Elections for the 17th Knesset were held in Israel on 28 March 2006. 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, Eti Livni and Ronny Brison) leaving the party to form a new party they claimed would represent the "real Shinui". Ilan Shalgi (אילן שלגי born 13 July 1945) is an Israeli Lawyer, politician and a former member of the Knesset. On 25 January Lapid resigned as party chairman and left the party declaring it no longer worthy of support. Yosef "Tommy" Lapid (יוסף "טומי" לפיד born Tomislav Lampel (Томислав Лампел December 27, 1931 - [1] 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. Hetz (חץ lit Arrow, also an acronym for Hilonit Tzionit (חילונית ציונית Secular Zionist) is a secularist political party Yosef "Tommy" Lapid (יוסף "טומי" לפיד born Tomislav Lampel (Томислав Лампел December 27, 1931 - After Yigal Yasinov also left the party, Shunui was left with only two MKs, Ehud Ratzabi and Ilan Leibovitch.
Before the elections Levintal made several conciliatory gestures toward Hetz, attempting negotiations with them, the anti-corruption Tafnit party led by Uzi Dayan, and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak over the prospect of forming a united front, but to no avail. Tafnit (תפנית Turnaround) is an Israeli Political party and a social movement which was established by the Aluf in reserve Ehud Barak (אֵהוּד בָּרָק born Ehud Brog on 12 February 1942) is an Israeli politician former Prime Minister, and In the election Shinui won just 4,675 votes, 0. 16% of the total, well below the 2% (62,741 votes) electoral threshold. In Party-list proportional representation systems an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes either Hetz won only 10,113 votes, meaning that both parties lost their Knesset representation.
Ideology
Religion and state
Despite nearly 30 years of public support of Liberal-Capitalist economic and social policies, its best known platform plank is a call for separation of religion and state within the confines of Zionist ideology. Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. It demands civil marriage (although it has opposed a bill to enact it in March 2004), the operation of public transportation, businesses, theaters, etc. on Shabbat, removal of laws concerning selling and importing non-kosher food, drafting of ultra-orthodox Jews into the IDF, and a halt to payments to yeshiva students. Shabbat or Shabbos ( Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt, shabbes, "rest/inactivity" is the Weekly Sabbath The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit Yeshiva or yeshivah (jəʃi'və ( Hebrew: ישיבה "sitting (n
Because of such demands and the inflammatory tone of its current leadership, it is sometimes accused of being anti-religious or hating the religious, and so some, including many secular people who would otherwise agree with its platform, would not vote for it. The party's official position is 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.
Conforming to its liberal orientation, Shinui recently adopted a unanimous resolution to create an in-party forum for gay, lesbian bisexual and transgendered people.
Economy
Economically, Shinui supports a free market, privatization of public assets, and a lowering of taxes, especially taxes on the middle class. A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the Public sector (government to the Private sector (business The middle class, in colloquial usage consists of those who have some economic independence but not a great deal of social Influence or power. The party has also objected to the introduction of a progressive estate tax.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Shinui's position on Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in accord with the mainstream centrist consensus. Shinui supported the anti-terrorism actions undertaken by Ariel Sharon, including direct targeting of terrorist leaders such as Ahmed Yassin. Palestinian political violence or Palestinian terrorism refers to acts of violence committed for political reasons by Palestinians Palestinian groups that support Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Yassin (1937 – March 22 2004 ( Arabic: ar الشيخ أحمد ياسين was the co-founder with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, of Hamas
Shinui supports negotiation with the Palestinians concerning the final status and a Palestinian state, which would include removal of Israeli settlements and withdrawal from most of the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli settlements are communities inhabited by Israelis in territory that was captured as a result of Jordanian attacks during the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria Gaza (غزة, עַזָּה ʕazzā is the largest city in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories. It asserts that both the right and left mislead 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, in the modern usage is a concept defined by the ideal state of relationship as absence of hostility at the international level that of a War.
Shinui strongly supports the Israeli West Bank barrier and the disengagement plan. West bank walljpg|thumb|Aerial view looking east from the Israeli side
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 sees itself as an antithesis to Shas, many of whose MKs have been convicted in various corruption probes. Shas (ש״ס is a political party in Israel, primarily representing Haredi Sephardi and Mizrahi Judaism. Accordingly, Lapid requested and received the Justice and Internal Affairs ministries when in government (the latter having been formerly held by Shas). Shas (ש״ס is a political party in Israel, primarily representing Haredi Sephardi and Mizrahi Judaism. Shinui also frequently praise the Supreme Court of Israel as a guardian of the law and moral values. The Supreme Court ( Hebrew: בית המשפט העליון Beit haMishpat ha'Elyon) is at the head of the court system in the State of Israel.
See also
External links
- Official website (English)
- Shinui - The Centre Party Knesset website (English)
- Shinui - The Secular Movement Knesset website (English)
- Shinui - Party for the Secular and the Middle Class Knesset website (English)
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