Israel - Orthodoxy - Shas

ISRAEL halacha =  collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from the Written & Oral Torah =  commandments & customs / traditions *viewed as less binding since Enlightenment *But in Israel areas of family & personal status law are under rabbinic courts.      [wpedia] Orthodox Jews observe halachic law / Religious Services Min. David Azoulay #Israel pro Orthodoxy / Jewish pluralism issue Multitude of Judaisms viewed as recipe for disaster [Gurion] More on religious pluralism #Israel issue: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.665719 Shas (Hebrew acronym for "Shomrei Sfarad" ie "Sephardi Guards" = ultra-orthodox political party in Israel founded by Rav Ovadiah Yosef 1948 establishment of Israel = riots & persecutions of Jews of Arab countries = huge numbers Middle Eastern Jews to Israel Middle Easten Jewish (ie Sephardic Jewish) ppl did not experience movements for religious reform as Europe & USA did. Therefore {I think} the Sephardi communities of the Middle East skipped the influence of European Enlightenment movement. Early Israel leadership largely Ashkenazic. mid-1970's ethnic divisions b/w Ashkenazic & Sephardic major social issue. 1970s Ashkenazi vs Sephardi social divisions = establishment of parallel Sephardi religious mainstream political parties. Sephardic Chief Rabbi Rav Ovadiah Yosef = founded Shas in 1984 = Shas has own Council of Torah Sages Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah = "Council of [wise] Torah Sages" rabbinical body = has ultimate authority in Israeli ultra-orthodox Sephardic & Mizrahi Shas Party 1999 election Shas = threat to 2 leading parties, for first time. platform: economic & social discrimination of Sephardi Shas party strategy: = focusing on needs of Sephardi Orthodox Israelis = own govt-funded education:  El ha-Ma'ayan Looks like Shas wants equivalent of a Jewish sharia state: Shas wants state run according to Halakha, Jewish religious law. Shas would like 'Haredi Jewish lifestyle' / looks like pre-Enlightenment Judaism of the Orthodox kind. Rejects secularism. Looks like Shas party may be struggling.  Internal problems 2015? more on Shas:  https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Politics/shas.html --------------------- COMMENT Interesting bits and pieces re Israel's Shas political party, orthodoxy, religious pluralism, and some of the social & political issues in Israel. I'll have a hard time remembering all of this.  But hoping some of it might sink in with repetition.  LOL [UPDATED - had the wrong council of Torah sages.  corrected.]