Degel HaTorah

Degel HaTorah (Hebrew: דגל התורה, lit. Banner of the Torah) is an Ashkenazi ultra-orthodox political party in Israel. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Israel under the name United Torah Judaism.

Ideology

Degel HaTorah represents the "Lithuanian wing" of the non-Hasidic Haredim (known by some as "Mitnagdim") as opposed to the Hasidic dominated Agudat Israel 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 rabbinical arbiter (posek) as of 2006 is nonagenarian Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv of Jerusalem. The two Chairmen of Degel haTorah's Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah 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 Shach was due to policy disputes with the Hasidic rabbis within Agudat Israel. The party's name, "Flag of the Torah", was a contrasting reference to the flag of the state of Israel, associated with the secular lifestyle and culture that Haredi society sharply disagreed with. Rabbi Shach died in 2001.

In the Twelfth Knesset, Degel HaTorah received two Knesset seats and joined the National Unity government without a portfolio. In the elections to the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Knessets, the party ran on the joint list called United Torah Judaism with Agudat Israel. Toward the elections for the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Knessets, they split into their separate parties in order to benefit from separate party financing.

In 2005, Degel HaTorah was part of the coalition government of Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon.

The party currently has two seats in the 17th Knesset (elected 2006).

See also

• Hasidim and Mitnagdim

External links

• Party history Knesset website