| Degel HaTorah דגל התורה |
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|---|---|
| Leader | Moshe Gafni |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Split from | Agudat Yisrael |
| Newspaper | Yated Ne'eman |
| Ideology | Ultra-Orthodox interest |
| Alliance | United Torah Judaism |
| Most MKs | 3 (2008-2009) |
| Fewest MKs | 1 (1996-1999) |
| Current MKs | 2 (as part of United Torah Judaism) |
| Election symbol | |
| עץ | |
| Politics of Israel Political parties Elections |
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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 Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.
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Ideology
Degel HaTorah represents the "Lithuanian wing" of the non-Hasidic Haredim (known by some as "Mitnagdim") as opposed to the Hasidic-dominated Agudat Yisrael 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[update] 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.[1] Its establishment by Rabbi Elazar Shach was due to policy disputes with the Hasidic rabbis within Agudat Yisrael. In the 1988 elections the party won two seats, taken by Moshe Gafni and Avraham Ravitz, and joined Yitzhak Shamir's coalition government.. For the 1992 elections the party allied itself with Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.
Although the party split shortly before the 1996 elections, they reunited for the elections. This was repeated for the 1999 and 2006 and 2009 elections.
Currently the party has two MKs (of the five representing UTJ), Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev.
See also
References
- ^ Degel Hatorah kicks off election campaign Jerusalem Post, 14 December 2005
External links
- Party history Knesset website
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