Shinui banner in Hebrew
Shinui
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Shinui (“Change” in Hebrew) was established in 1974 and today is closely identified with positions opposed to ultra-Orthodox parties in Israel. Yosef (Tommy) Lapid is party’s current chairman.
Shinui was formed in 1974 as a protest movement in response to the Yom Kippur War a few months earlier. In the 1977 elections, Shinui joined other Liberal parties and public figures to form the Dash bloc, which won 15 seats.
Dash dissolved, leaving Shinui, headed by Amnon Rubinstein, to run alone in the 1981, 1984 and 1988 elections, where the party won just a handful of seats.
In 1992, Shinui joined the dovish RATZ (Movement for Civil Rights and Peace) and Mapam (Israel Workers Party) parties to form Meretz, which won 12 seats and joined the Labor government.
In 1996, the three parties merged, but many Shinui members, under the leadership of Avraham Poraz, distanced themselves from social-democratic elements in Meretz and splintered from the party.
Ahead of the 1999 elections, Poraz abdicated in favor of Lapid, who hosted a popular TV program on current events. Shinui won 6 Knesset seats, then in 2003 won 15 seats and became Sharon’s senior coalition partner.
Shinui is best known for its call for separation of religion and state within the confines of Zionist ideology. It supports civil marriage, operation of public transportation and businesses on the Sabbath, removal of laws concerning kosher food, drafting haredi Jews into the military and an end to payments to yeshiva students.
Economically, Shinui supports a free market economy, privatization of public assets and lower taxes. The party bills itself as a representative of middle class Israelis.
Regarding the conflict with the Palestinians, Shinui seems prepared for a final settlement that would include removal of settlements and withdrawal from most of the territories.
