Shas and Rabbai Ovadia Yossef’s Political Leverage

Abstract

Israeli sociologists often view Shas as a party that exploits the seemingly pragmatic position of its spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, on political issues in order to maneuver between the right-wing and left-wing in Israeli politics. According to these scholars, Shas’s presence in the government is vital to the party’s retention of power status. Be this as it may, I claim that Shas should be seen as sitting on the cusp of a fundamental dilemma, over which the party’s spiritual leadership vacillates: should it assume responsibility for leading the entire population or limit itself to its own sector and the religious-political agenda that it champions? 

The key to this question can be found in Rabbi Yossef’s position on major political issues. This paper examines three of his basic positions that have political significance: his view of halakha (Jewish religious law) as a restraining factor on revolutionary change; his opposition to radical messianism; and his development of an ethnic, nationalistic stance. All three put Shas in an independent position that makes it an alternative to the haredi (ultra-orthodox) and religious-Zionist agendas.