Degel HaTorah
Encyclopedia
Degel HaTorah is an Ashkenazi
Haredi
political party in Israel
. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism
.
wing" of the non-Hasidic Haredim (known by some as "Mitnagdim") as opposed to the Hasidic
-dominated Agudat Yisrael party. Sometimes, the parties compete against each other, at other times they join forces within a political alliance called United Torah Judaism
(UTJ) (Yahadut HaTorah in Hebrew).
Degel HaTorah's rabbi
nical arbiter (posek
) is centenarian
Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv of Jerusalem. The two Chairmen of Degel haTorah's Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
are Rabbi Eliashiv and Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman.
was due to policy disputes with the Hasidic
rabbi
s within Agudat Yisrael. In the 1988 elections
the party won two seats, taken by Moshe Gafni
and Avraham Ravitz
, and joined Yitzhak Shamir
's coalition government.. For the 1992 elections
the party allied itself with Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.
Although the party split shortly before the 1996 elections
, they reunited for the elections. This was repeated for the 1999 and 2006 and 2009 elections
.
Currently the party has two MKs (of the five representing UTJ), Moshe Gafni
and Uri Maklev
.
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
Haredi
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
political party in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel, two small Israeli Haredi political parties in the Knesset. It was first formed in 1992.The two parties have not always agreed with each other about policy matters...
.
Ideology
Degel HaTorah represents the "LithuanianLithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...
wing" of the non-Hasidic Haredim (known by some as "Mitnagdim") as opposed to the Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
-dominated Agudat Yisrael party. Sometimes, the parties compete against each other, at other times they join forces within a political alliance called United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel, two small Israeli Haredi political parties in the Knesset. It was first formed in 1992.The two parties have not always agreed with each other about policy matters...
(UTJ) (Yahadut HaTorah in Hebrew).
Degel HaTorah's rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nical arbiter (posek
Posek
Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....
) is centenarian
Centenarian
A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...
Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv of Jerusalem. The two Chairmen of Degel haTorah's Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah refers to the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of any of several related Haredi Jewish organizations....
are Rabbi Eliashiv and Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman.
History
Degel HaTorah was founded in 1988 as a splinter from Agudat Israel. Its establishment by Rabbi Elazar ShachElazar Shach
Elazar Menachem Man Shach also spelt Eliezer Schach, was a leading Lithuanian-born and educated Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. He also served as one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak along with Rabbis Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky...
was due to policy disputes with the Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s within Agudat Yisrael. In the 1988 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1988
Elections for the twelfth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1988. Voter turnout was 79.7%.-Results:1 Five members of the Likud left to form the Party for the Advancement of the Zionist Idea; after two returned, the party was renamed the New Liberal Party...
the party won two seats, taken by Moshe Gafni
Moshe Gafni
Moshe Gafni is an Israeli politician and Member of the Knesset for the ultra-orthodox party Degel HaTorah.-Biography:Born in Bnei Brak, Gafni was educated in a yeshiva and later worked as head of a Kollel, avoiding national service in the IDF...
and Avraham Ravitz
Avraham Ravitz
Avraham Ravitz was an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for Degel HaTorah, which forms part of the United Torah Judaism alliance.-Biography:...
, and joined Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir
' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
's coalition government.. For the 1992 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1992
Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. The result was a victory for the left, led by Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party, though their win was at least partially due to several small right-wing parties narrowly failing to cross the electoral threshold and thus effectively...
the party allied itself with Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.
Although the party split shortly before the 1996 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1996
Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the...
, they reunited for the elections. This was repeated for the 1999 and 2006 and 2009 elections
Israeli legislative election, 2009
Elections for the 18th Knesset were held in Israel on 10 February 2009. These elections became necessary due to the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima party, and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government...
.
Currently the party has two MKs (of the five representing UTJ), Moshe Gafni
Moshe Gafni
Moshe Gafni is an Israeli politician and Member of the Knesset for the ultra-orthodox party Degel HaTorah.-Biography:Born in Bnei Brak, Gafni was educated in a yeshiva and later worked as head of a Kollel, avoiding national service in the IDF...
and Uri Maklev
Uri Maklev
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Uri Maklev is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for the Haredi party Degel HaTorah, which together with Agudat Yisrael forms the United Torah Judaism list.-Biography:...
.