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United Torah Judaism ( and Agudat Israel , two small Israel i 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, however, over the years they have co-operated and united as a Voting Bloc in order to win the maximum number of seats in the Knesset since many extra votes can be wasted if certain thresholds are not attained under Israel's Proportional Representation parliamentary system. When it joined Prime Minister Of Israel 's ruling coalition in 2004 it split into its two constituent factions of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel . Prior to the Israel Legislative Election, 2006 Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel agreed to revive their alliance under the banner of United Torah Judaism in order not to waste votes by combining all votes that would be cast for them cumulatively rather than as separate parties in order to have maximum representation in the Composition Of The 17th Knesset (elected 2006) . FORMATION OF THE PARTY UTJ was always a coalition of two factions:
''Degel HaTorah'''s pre-eminent sages and guides are presently Rabbis Yosef Shalom Eliashiv and Aharon Shteinman , both well into their nineties. Rabbi Eliashiv lives in Jerusalem and Rabbi Shtainman is in Bnei Brak . Policy decisions are also weighed and decided by a '' Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah '' ("Council of Torah Sages"), a council of experienced communal rabbis, made up of mostly senior and elderly Heads Of Yeshivas all very learned in Talmud , devoted to Halakha (classical Jewish law), and guided by their knowledge and application of the classical "Code of Jewish Law", the Shulkhan Arukh . The ''Agudat Yisrael'' faction takes its directions from the Hasidic Rebbe s of Ger , Vizhnitz , and Belz also steeped in Torah law and Mysticism , who wield a lot of influence in the daily lives of their followers (the "Hasidim"). Prior to the formation of UTJ and the establishment of ''Degel HaTorah'', the two factions were united under one united ''Agudat Yisrael'' party, but the late mentor and supreme guide of the non-Hasidic group, Rabbi Elazar Shach (1898-2001) decided to break away from the Hasidic wing when it was clear that the party was too strongly controlled by Hasidic groups whom he considered not up to his standing. At that point he split from them, and created the ''Degel HaTorah'' party for the " Lithuanian " Haredi Jews (also known as " Mitnagdim " by some). He chose the name ''Degel HaTorah'' meaning "Flag {Link without Title} The Torah" to be a contrast to the well-known Flag Of Israel and its connection with the secular-dominated State Of Israel (an "anti-Torah" symbol) in his opinion. Rabbi Shach was known as an outspoken critic of the secular Israeli way of life. The UTJ party also had considerable influence on the Israeli Sephardi Jews ' Shas party. In fact, the Shas party was founded by Rabbi Shach at an earlier juncture when he was previously also frustrated with the policies of the Hasidic rebbes, so he turned to the Sephardic Jews, and urged his own Ashkenazi followers at that time, to vote for the new Shas party, which they did in record numbers. Later, Shas broke with Rabbi Schach as it adopted its own independent political stance under Rabbi Ovadia Yosef . Yet, Shas always "looks over its shoulder" to see what the Ashkenazi Haredi parties are up to, and usually goes in the same direction as it has similar needs and interests within the state. 2004 SPLIT In January 2004, the party split back into its two factions following a disagreement over how to join Ariel Sharon 's coalition, which had been negotiated by Rabbi Eliashiv. Rabbi Eliashiv wanted the five MKs to have a three-month "waiting period" before accepting jobs in the government. Rabbi Yakov Aryeh Alter , the Gerrer rebbe, however, thought that all Agudat members should accept positions immediately. The Agudat MKs argued that they should be entitled to follow their own rabbis' ruling, while their Degel HaTorah counterparts accused them of disrespecting Rabbi Eliashiv. The Agudah faction proceeded to follow the rebbe of Ger's instructions, with MK Yaakov Litzman accepting the position as chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee. This infuriated Degel HaTorah and its leaders, and in response they left the party, dissolving a twelve-year-old partnership. REUNIFICATION AS A PARTY In December 2005, there was a meeting between representatives of the two factions, presumably to smooth over the ill-feelings of the previous year and to attempt to regroup before the March 2006 Elections . A number of issues were worked out, such as Degel HaTorah's insistence on the joint list being equally divided between the two parties. (In the past, Agudat Israel has received slightly more votes than Degel HaTorah.) Degel HaTorah has reorganized itself. It has a fully equipped modern party office on Hamabit Street 10 in Jerusalem's Geulah neighborhood. It conducted a party convention, its first in 15 years, in December 2005. 2006 UNITY reads: " " Gimel " "Torah Judaism and the Shabbat Agudat Israel - Degel HaTorah" ] In early February 2006 Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah agreed to run together as United Torah Judaism, despite the fact that the contentious "sixth seat" issue remained undecided. The two groups finally compromised by proposing dividing the sixth seat between two representatives on a rotating schedule, (as was done in the last Knesset between the , although the Belz court was reportedly irked that once again, it was being asked to sacrifice part of its representation. {Link without Title} UTJ MKs told reporters that any decision to join future government coalitions will be dependant on achieving two "central posts" to be split between Agudah and Degel. Similarly, in order to avoid the problems that led to the 2004 split, disagreements about joining a coalition will not be determined by a majority vote of MKs, but rather taken to the party's rabbinic leaders. {Link without Title} Various media interviews with the party's Knesset members confirmed that it would strongly consider joining a coalition with the , issued public declarations urging the Haredi public to vote for the party's list. {Link without Title} SOURCES AND EXTERNAL LINKS United Torah Judaism Yahudat Hatorah-official site | ||
| "http://wwwhaaretzcom/hasen/spages/655785html" class="copylinks" target="_blank">"Degel Hatorah plans first convention in 15 years"- Yair Ettinger, Ha'aretz, December 9, 2005 |
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