Agudat Israel Party

Agudat Israel (Assembly of Israel) is a political religious party opposition to Zionism that was formed in 1912 in Poland by a number of traditional religious leaders affiliated with the Orthodox Judaism of Germany, Latvian, Hungary and Poland. The leaders had essential and non-essential differences with each other in many cases, but they agreed on one point and that was enemity with the idea of Zionism as a movement and a political and social program.
The idea of Zionism is based on the ideas of nationalism and laic (and what is mixed with the liberal socialist ideas) and inviting the Jews to stop living in the so-called Exile and Emigration to Palestine and establishing a modern state and society in it based on new principles that based on the Agudat Israel party is disbelief and going out of the religion and the destruction of the foundations of spiritual and material life of various sects of Jews around the world and disobedience against God's will and on the other hand, the party also resorting the Torah and the Jewish religion knows it as the only regulator of Jews' life and individual and group behavior. In addition, it also respects to traditional values and ways of life of Jewish communities living among them, and consideres it prestigious. Agudat Israel believes in savior of apocalypse. According to this view, the salvation of so-called Jewish nation (and whole the world) and its return from the to and establishing on earth is not possible with the advent of the Savior of Apocalypse (if God wills), and Zionist movement and no one else can do anything about it.
Agudat Israel party was hostile to the Zionist movement since its installations a long time since the British Mandate of Palestine, and it severely dealt with it and also opposed with the idea of and the creation of a Jewish state. The party's advocates in Palestine prevented the integration in Jewish immigrants committee (which was started by support and encourage of the mandate government) and lived apart from the society and its institutions, including Zionist or state institutions.
But over time the hostilities became less, and since half of the third decade, a kind of understanding and cooperation appeared between the Agudat Israel party (especially its Workers front called Bualy Agudat Israel) and political institutions and Zionist immigration in a way that on the eve of announcing installation of state of Israel in 1948, Agudat Israel party refused opposition to the establishment of a Jewish state and it participated in the provisional Council of State and the first coalition cabinet and subsequently Knesset elections and of government and opposition. Of course, regardless of the opposition to the establishment of a Jewish state and participation in the government, it does not mean that the party has recognized Israel as a Jewish state, but it means accepting a reality and the Agudat Israel called to use the present status in the material and spiritual interests of its members and supporters. Party Agudat Israel does not still recognize Israel (as a Jewish state) or its flag, national anthem, its founders and national rituals and it opposes military services for students of religious schools (Yeshiva) and drafting a constitution based on Laicism principles. The party has refused to accept ministerial posts since the year 1952 and in spite of participating in coalition cabinets by leaders from MeRakah and Likud parties.
Agudat Israel during the long years met several branches. The first split was in half of the third decade. At that time, a group of children < old Yyshuf > separated from the Party and created independent organizations that was called Tori Carta (in Aramaic means keepers of the city) is called; in the middle of the Forties, the Bualy movement of Agudat Israel (Workers of Association of Israel ) separated from Agudat Israel party and formed labor organization. Concurrent with the announcement of Israeli installations, the organization almost became an independent party. In 1984, representatives of Oriental Jews in Agudat Israel separated from the party and formed a new party called Shas. Finally, shortly before the elections in 1988, followers and disciples of Rabbi Menahem Aliyizer Shakh, a great spiritual leader of Latvian Jews, separated the Agudat Israel party on his orders and formed Dyghl HaTorah party. In the late Eighties Bualy Agudat Israel merged in Agudat Israel and there is no other party called Bualy Agudat Israel; also shortly before the 1992 election, both Agudat Israel and Dyghl HaTorah parties made a coalition together, and they created the parliamentary Yahadut HaTorah group. In the field of political activities, Agudat Israel focused its attempts on the part of religious and social matters effecting nature of government and way of life and interests of its nationals and it does not care about foreign and security affairs, including the issue of the occupied territories and associated issues. On the occupied territories, the party operates in its position depending on how it can thereby advance its religious goals in the Knesset and gain material interests for its followers and educational and social institutions.
Political positions of the party can be summarized as follows: the assertive and aggressive acts and high similarity to the political positions of the parties Hathya and Mafdal; influential elements of party mainly consists of members of Bualy Agudat Israel under the leadership of Rabbi Abraham Nyrdygher and followers of the cult of Hasydyeh Hebad (the Alyyzr Mzramy is their representative in the party) disagree to withdraw from even one inch of the so-called land of Israel and they focus on the need to expand settlement activity across the country. But given that the general religious view of party emphasizes on this point that survival of the so-called Jewish nation and gathering all the Jews in will be done only by the < Promised Savior >, many influential leaders of the party and at top of them Rabbi Alyyzr Shakh is now ready give a part of the so-called land of Israel, because according to the leaders, there is no indication of imminent rescue operations mentioned above.
In the field of religious issues, the party tries to reform the laws in order to more cohesion to the principles of Judaism (according to Orthodox Jews of interpretation of the law). In the field of social issues, it tries to increase share of network of educational, social and religious institutions affiliated to the party from the state budget. In the eighties, the Agudat Israel using the same situation of Likud and Labor and the need of the two parties to appease and satisfy the religious parties to remain in power or approval of specified bills in the Knesset, could achieve important advantages in religious and social terms which caused secular parties and their supporters getting furious.
The important decisions in Agudat Israel party are made by the council called . The Council consists of heads of important religious schools (Yeshivas) that mostly are Latvian and heads of Hasydyh and they hold meeting at any time that is necessary. Dealing with the daily affairs of the party and affiliated institutions are carried out by the delegation of the party in the Knesset and especial organs that are selected with complex methods.
Now Agudat Israel's electoral base is made of fundamentalists mass (known as Haredi Judaism) and Ashkenazi Jews that most of them are located in Jerusalem and Bani Brock near Tel Aviv. As can be seen, the party's electoral base in terms of geography and range of fans is not wide but it is a strong, solid and stable base. Israel Agudat party is based on this platform and it has managed in all elections to win 4 seats in the Knesset except in the eleventh Knesset (1984) that only two candidates of the party were elected to the Knesset. Separation of Oriental Jews from Agudat Israel Party, and formation of Shas party by them and consequently attracting the votes of Oriental Jews towards the new party was cause of the failure.
Agudat Israel has participated in the first Knesset elections (1949) with Mafdal and Bualy Agudat Israel in the framework of a united religious front and it took part in the Third Knesset elections (1955), the fourth (1959) and the eighth (1973) along with Bualy Agudat Israel in framework of religious Torah front, and the thirteenth Knesset elections (1992) with Dyghl HaTorah in the framework of the campaign - parliamentary Yahadut HaTorah and it participate in other elections individually.
Number of seats of the party in different periods of the Knesset: Knesset II (1951) 3 seats, the third Knesset (1955) 6 seats (with Bualy Agudat Israel); fourth Knesset (1959) 6 seats (with Bualy Agudat Israel); Knesset V (1961) 4 seats; sixth Knesset (1965) 4 seats; seventh Knesset (1969) 4 seats; eighth Knesset (1973) 4 seats (plus one seat of Bualy Agudat Israel); ninth Knesset (1977) 4 seats; tenth Knesset ( 1981) 4 seats; the eleventh Knesset (1984) 2 seats; the twelfth Knesset (1988) 5 seats and the thirteenth Knesset (1992) 4 seats (with Dyghl HaTorah).