Shinui
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Shinui (שינוי) (original full name: Tenua le-Shinui ve Yozma and then to Shinui-Mifleget ha-Merkaz) is a Zionist, secular and anti-clerical, free market liberal party in Israel. Shinui is a member of the Liberal International. In Hebrew, the word Shinui literally means "reform" or "change". In the election of 2003, it gained 15 out of 120 Knesset seats, making it the third-largest party, behind Likud and Labour, but dramatically plummeted off of the political map only three years later in the 2006 elections. The party suffered a severe split in early 2006 that saw the departure of leader Tommy Lapid and most of the party's MKs. The party's new leader is Ron Levintal.
| Shinui | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | Ron Levintal |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | |
| Political ideology | Liberalism, Centrism, Anti-clericalism |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
| Website | www.shinui.org.il |
Contents |
[edit] Early History
Shinui was established by Israeli business people and academics in 1974, following the 1973 Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War, which shook the Israeli public. In the 1977 elections it formed the DASH (Democratic Movement for Change) bloc with other Liberal parties and public figures, secured 15 seats in parliament and formed the first non-Labour coalition government. DASH suffered many internal conflicts and quickly dissolved, leaving Shinui, headed by Prof. Amnon Rubinstein to run on its own in the 1981, 1984 and 1988 elections, in which it was down to two seats.
[edit] Meretz period
In 1992 it joined two other dovish parties, Ratz (רצ, Movement for Civil Rights and Peace) and Mapam (מפ"ם, United Workers Party), to form the leftist coalition party Meretz, which together won 12 seats and formed a coalition government with Labour. In 1996 the three parties decided to merge to form united Meretz party. The party leader, Prof. Amnon Rubinstein, supported the merger, but most party members, under the leadership of Avraham Poraz sought to distance themselves from the leftist social-democratic elements in Meretz, and splintered in 1997. Poraz led the party towards a more ideologically liberal stance on both the economy and secularism.
[edit] Tommy Lapid period
Towards the 1999 elections, he abdicated in favour of flamboyant TV celebrity Yosef 'Tommy' Lapid, who was known for his fierce rhetoric against religious coercion. In those elections, Shinui went up to 6 seats and in 2003 it won 15 seats and became the 3rd largest fraction in the Knesset, and Ariel Sharon's senior coalition partner.
[edit] Ideology
[edit] 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. 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 Saturdays (the Shabbat, Jewish Sabbath), removal of laws concerning selling and importing non-kosher food, drafting of Haredi Jews into the IDF, and a halt to payments to Haredi Yeshiva students.
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. However, some material from Shinui's internet site does seem to be anti-religious, such as their television campaign for the 2006 elections in Israel which shows Haredi Jews dragging onto secular voter, and as the secular man votes for Shinui, all the Haredim vanish in midair.[1] This campaign is seen by many as provocative, and by some even anti-Semitic.
Conforming to its liberal orientation, Shinui recently adopted a unanimous resolution to create an in-party forum for gay, lesbian bisexual and transgendered persons.
[edit] Economy
Economically, Shinui supports a free market, privatization of public assets, and a lowering of taxes, especially taxes on the middle class. The party has also objected to the introduction of a progressive estate tax.
[edit] Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Shinui's position on Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in accord with the mainstream centrist consensus. Shinui supports the anti-terrorism actions undertaken by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, including direct targeting of terrorist leaders (such as Ahmed Yassin).
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. 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.
Shinui strongly supports the Israeli West Bank barrier and Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 from the Gaza Strip.
[edit] 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 the Mizrahi Haredi party Shas, which they describe as "unenlightened," "primitive" and "corrupt".
Accordingly, Lapid requested and received the Ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs (the latter having been formerly held by Shas). Shinui also frequently praise the Supreme Court of Israel as a guardian of the law and moral values.
[edit] Politics
Since Lapid joined Shinui, it has unconditionally refused to join any coalition which includes the Haredi parties (Shas and United Torah Judaism).
Shinui has a deep rivalry with Meretz-Yachad party, although they share very similar values in many issues. The rivalry is due to a battle over voters (both parties draw their support from the Ashkenazi-secular middle class) and what are often seen as "ego fights" between Yossef Lapid to Meretz's leaders Yossi Sarid and Yossi Beilin.
[edit] Paritzky affair
On July, 2004, a tape recording of Shinui senior member and Minister of Infrastructures, Yossef Paritzki, was exposed. In the tape, Paritzki asked a private investigator to frame his Shinui colleague Avraam Poraz in order to end his political career and thus clear the way for Paritzki. The private investigator was 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.
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. Paritzki refused and blamed Shinui and other factors in a plot against him.
[edit] Joining the governing coalition
On August 2004, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon initiated coalition negotiations after he lost the government majority required to support his disengagement plan. Sharon wished to form a Likud-Labor-Shinui "secular unity" government, but this intention was thwarted by the objections of Likud's members. Sharon then started negotiations with the Haredi Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) parties to join the governmemt. However, Shinui vowed in the 2003 elections that it would not sit together in a coalition with these parties.
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 sit together in the government with UTJ, if they could agree on the government principles. Lapid also hoped that the UTJ would be the side to turn down and scuttle the negotiations. The UTJ, however, raised its demands (e.g. cancelling procedures for passing civil marriage laws and the Tal law).
[edit] Paritzky affair continued
In June 2005 a new media circus regarding Shinui threatened to reopen the not-yet-healed wounds of the Paritzky Affair. Poraz, confronted by low ranking party activists who accused him and Lapid of dictatorial control of the organization, was recorded by them offering vacation flights out of the country and other financial favours. The tape reached the 'Maariv' daily, 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. The affair had few consequences for several reasons. The most important was Shinui's position outside the government which differed from the Paritzky Affair. The Gaza Withdrawal and the opposition to it also deadened public interest in internal party skirmishes except the Likud "rebellion" against Ariel Sharon. These facts, along with the well-known lack of activity among most Shinui members contributed to the fall of the scandal from the headlines, and the absence of a real investigation.
However, a recurring shadow that the Poraz scandal has posed to the party is the threat that it has become institutionalized and dominated by Lapid and Poraz. These 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 beyond its currently tiny three thousand plus.
On December 1, 2004, Shinui voted against Sharon's proposed 2005 budget, which included subsidies to UTJ projects. In response, Sharon fired the Shinui ministers from the cabinet.
[edit] Shinui out of the cabinet
As of 2005, Shinui was not included in the new coalition government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon after he formed a new coalition with the Labour Party, and the Ashkenazi Haredi parties of United Torah Judaism and Degel haTorah.
When Lapid and Poraz were fired by Sharon in January 2005, Poraz responded with war-like words, claiming that they would return with far more seats after the next election and then the Likud could not ignore them. Since then Shinui has been subjected to several challenges, notably being part of an opposition that includes two parties diametrically opposed to it, Shas and the National Religious Party.
Observers have commented that as a leading member of the opposition, Lapid instead continued to serve the interests of Sharon, providing a safety net in order to see through the Gaza Withdrawal, and supporting Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's financial reforms. These positions have led to criticism by members further to the left that Lapid is little more than Sharon's trump card should the Labour Party lead the coalition. Shinui did vote against the November appointment of Netanyahu's replacement Ehud Olmert and two other Likud ministers, Ze'ev Boim and Ronni Bar-On.
[edit] Shinui and Peretz's Labour leadership
Shinui's position has drastically changed following the November 9 election of MK and Histadrut trade union chairman Amir Peretz as the head of the Labour Party. Unlike his predecessor and opponent in the party primary, Shimon Peres, Peretz advocates a social democratic economic policy, and he was the most ferocious outside opponent of Lapid's secular coalition proposal of 2003, claiming it would only widen the social gap.
Peretz threatened Lapid's ambition of turning Shinui into one of the two top parties in Israel. Before Peretz's election Labour and Shinui were both primarily attractive for well-off, Ashkenazi Israelis of liberal/secular lifestyles. Peretz is a Moroccan immigrant who is privately traditional in his religious practices, and his support is drawn from lower class and Arab voters. In these respects Peretz is far more dangerous to Shinui than Peres, because unlike the latter he is determined and better tuned to bring new voters to Labour.
[edit] Threat from Kadima
Shinui also faced a threat from the center-right where Ariel Sharon, prime minister and former head of the ruling Likud Party broke with the hardline party faithful led by Benjamin Netanyahu and Uzi Landau in response to their opposition to the Gaza Withdrawal and continuing tensions. Sharon has formed the moderate Kadima party with his old supporters in the Likud, including Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni, as well as MKs from Labour and other parties. Sharon's platform threatens Shinui with virtual eradication. Since Lapid resigned as Justice Minister, Tzipi Livni has filled his shoes and become one of the most visible government ministers.
In the days when Sharon first declared the formation of his new political bloc, the media speculated that Lapid would be driven into a coalition with the Prime Minister in exchange for guaranteed positions on the Kadima Knesset list. Lapid and Poraz denied the rumours, claiming that Sharon didn't have the will to withstand pressure from outside groups, especially the Orthodox parties. Ironically, in the 1977 elections Sharon's start-up faction Shlomtzion had proposed a coalition with Shinui when it was led by Amnon Rubinstein, who also refused the offer. Almost thirty years later history has been repeated, although Shinui is today far weaker than Sharon's Kadima.
[edit] Split in leadup to 2006 elections
The party was put into turmoil on January 12, 2006 when five of its MKs quit after Avraham Poraz was defeated by Ron Levintal in his bid to retain the second slot in the electoral list. Poraz, Ilan Shalgi, Meli Polishook-Bloch, Eti Livni and Ronny Brison announced they were quitting Shinui and would form a new party that would represent the "real Shinui"[2]. Party Chairman Tommy Lapid was re-elected to his spot on the top of the list with only 53% of the votes cast against challenger Yitzhak Gilad but had said in the past that he would not serve without Poraz as his deputy[3]. Shinui members vote in a separate round for each slot on the list, the winning candidate is required to win more than 50% of the vote.
On January 25, Lapid resigned as Shinui's chairman and left the party declaring it no longer worthy of support. [4] A total of 9 MKs quit Shinui and formed a new party Hetz led by Poraz and supported by Lapid. 3 other MKs joined other parties, leaving Shinui with only two MKs, Ehud Ratzabi and Ilan Leibovitch.[5]
Before the 2006 elections Levintal attempted several conciliatory gestures toward Poraz, attempting negotiations with both him, the leader of the anti-corruption Tafnit Party Uzi Dayan, and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak over the prospect of forming a united front, but to no avail.
[edit] 2006 election results
The actual election result saw a cataclysmic disintegration of the party's strength; both it and its twin, Hetz, did not even cross the threshold. Parties required more than 60,000 votes to win a seat in the Knesset, however, Shinui received only 4,675 votes while Hetz received 10,113 votes .
