Yachad () is a
Haredi nationalist and
Hardal
Hardal (also spelled Chardal; , acronym for , , plural ) usually refers to the portion of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Haredi ideology (in terms of outlook on the secular world, or in their ...
political party in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
formed by former
Shas
Shas () is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi religious List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardic Jews, Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until ...
member
Eli Yishai
Eliyahu "Eli" Yishai (; born 26 December 1962) is an Israeli politician. A former leader of Shas, he represented the party in the Knesset from 1996 until 2015, also holding several ministerial posts, including being Deputy Prime Minister, Minist ...
.
The party combines certain groups of
ultra-Orthodox Jews with some
religious Zionists
Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...
.
History
The party was established on 15 December 2014, following a rift between
Shas
Shas () is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi religious List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardic Jews, Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until ...
leader
Aryeh Deri
Aryeh Makhlouf Deri (; ), also Arie Deri, Arye Deri, or Arieh Deri (born 17 February 1959), is an Israeli politician and one of the founders of the Shas political party who served as the Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Health, and Minister ...
and former Shas leader Eli Yishai.
[ The two had quarreled greatly after the death of Rabbi ]Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...
, the spiritual leader of Shas. Former Jewish Home
The Jewish Home () was an Orthodox Jewish, religious Zionist and far-right political party in Israel. It was originally formed by a merger of the National Religious Party, Moledet and Tkuma in November 2008. However, Moledet broke away from t ...
member Yoni Chetboun, of the Chardal
Hardal (also spelled Chardal; , acronym for , , plural ) usually refers to the portion of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Haredi ideology (in terms of outlook on the secular world, or in their ...
wing of religious Zionism
Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...
, announced on 14 December 2014 that he would join the party.
Rabbi Meir Mazuz, the dean of the Kisse Rahamim yeshivah, is the party's spiritual leader.
The party's name was not settled until it submitted its list of candidates for the 2015 elections
Africa
* 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015
* 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015
* 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015
* 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015
* 2015-16 Central African gene ...
, with early suggestions being Maran and HaAm Itanu (''The Nation is with Us'').
On 29 January 2015, the party reached an agreement to run a joint list with the extreme right-wing Otzma Yehudit
Otzma Yehudit () is a Far-right politics in Israel, far-right, ultranationalist, Kahanism, Kahanist, and Anti-Arab racism, anti-Arab List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. It is the ideological descendant of the outlawe ...
for the 2015 elections, although it was widely expected they would break up their alliance after the election. The electoral strategy to unite with the far right was criticized by Haredi
Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...
activists who said the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...
would have never approved an alliance with Kahanists.
The party failed to reach the minimum 3.25% electoral threshold, and failed to send any representatives to the Knesset
The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel.
The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
. In 2017, the party announced that they planned on contesting the next elections.
In February 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
encouraged Yachad to form a joint list with Otzma Yehudit
Otzma Yehudit () is a Far-right politics in Israel, far-right, ultranationalist, Kahanism, Kahanist, and Anti-Arab racism, anti-Arab List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. It is the ideological descendant of the outlawe ...
, The Jewish Home
The Jewish Home () was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish, Religious Zionism, religious Zionist and Far-right politics in Israel, far-right political party in Israel. It was originally formed by a merger of the National Religious Party, Mole ...
, and Tkuma, with Yishai promised a cabinet position if the deal went ahead. As conditions for the deal, Tkuma leader Bezalel Smotrich
Bezalel Yoel Smotrich (; born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli far-right politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2022. The leader of the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism, he previously served as a Kn ...
insisted on Yachad uniting with Tkuma and Jewish Home once elected to the Knesset, and both Smotrich and Jewish Home leader Rafi Peretz
Rafael "Rafi" Peretz (; born 7 January 1956) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and former politician. A former military officer and helicopter pilot who also served as the Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, he was the leader of the ...
insisted on Yachad's Rabbi Meir Mazuz publishing a letter in support of the alliance. Mazuz opposed staying united after the election, reportedly due to the presence of female candidates on the lists of these two parties. In addition, Yishai claimed Shas leader Aryeh Deri had threatened to veto a potential appointment of Yishai to the cabinet. As a consequence, Yishai announced Yachad would run alone. Netanyahu subsequently urged Mazuz to get Yishai to withdraw from the election.
On 27 March 2019, Eli Yishai announced the withdrawal of Yachad from the April 2019 elections, and endorsed United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism (, ''Yahadut HaTora'') is a Haredi, religious conservative political alliance in Israel. The alliance, consisting of Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah, was first formed in 1992, in order to maximize Ashkenazi Haredi repr ...
(UTJ), in exchange for UTJ pushing for his appointment to a position dealing with Haredi housing in a future government. After the election, Yishai claimed that Netanyahu had engineered the alliance by promising him a ministerial post if UTJ won over 8 seats.
Yachad did not contest the September 2019 elections. Yishai subsequently opened talks to join with UTJ, in exchange for a ministerial appointment after the election. Yishai also claimed he could get Noam to drop out of the election, although Noam denied being approached. UTJ stated openness to the proposal, but said the party would need Netanyahu to sign off on it. However, Netanyahu later clarified that he would not offer Yishai a ministerial appointment, after which Yishai opened talks to offer his party's support to Otzma Yehudit.
The Jewish Home
The Jewish Home () was an Orthodox Jewish, religious Zionist and far-right political party in Israel. It was originally formed by a merger of the National Religious Party, Moledet and Tkuma in November 2008. However, Moledet broke away from t ...
party initially reached out to Yachad prior to the 2020 Israeli legislative election
Legislative elections were held in Israel on 2 March 2020 to elect members of the twenty-third Knesset. The result was initially a stalemate, which was resolved when Likud and Blue & White reached a coalition agreement. Under the terms of the ...
, to negotiate an electoral alliance between the two parties, but the terms of the offer made by Yishai were ultimately rejected by Jewish Home.
Ideology
Yachad is a right-wing to far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
party, which advocates for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank
The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, as well as the encouragement of settlement. The party has also asserted that ultra-Orthodox men who are not devoting themselves to full-time Torah study should be drafted into the military, as long as the military framework has adapted to their needs, or that they should perform national civilian service. The party also opposes the egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall.
Leaders
Election results
Knesset
References
{{Israeli political parties
2014 establishments in Israel
Political parties in Israel
Orthodox Jewish political parties
Conservative parties in Israel
Socially conservative parties
Political parties established in 2014
Far-right political parties in Israel
Religious Zionist political parties in Israel
Right-wing parties
Right-wing politics in Israel
National conservative parties
Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew