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Shinui Chair Yosef Lapid last night. Avraham Poraz and five other Shinui MKs have announced they will resign from the party. (David Bachar)Mercy killing for terminally ill party By Yossi Verter Shinui's 170-member council did a great kindness yesterday to Yosef Lapid, Avraham Poraz and the rest of Shinui's feeble and failing leadership: By their vote, they shortened the party's death and moved up the final blow the party would have received in any case on election day, March 28. The question of whether Lapid and his colleagues will completely abandon politics or set up a new party called...

'I am revolted by the anti-Semitic discourse promoted by seculars against ultra-Orthodox,' Shelly Yechimovitz says, one day after she joins Labor party The latest celebrity recruit to the Labor Party, television news anchor Shelly Yechimovitz, expressed her fondness of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel during a radio interview Wednesday morning. “I am revolted by the anti-Semitic discourse promoted by seculars against the ultra-Orthodox. Their public is an as Shinui tries to portray,” Yechimovitz told the radio host. Yechimovitz announced her decision to abandon her career in journalism and venture into the tides of politics, printing a smile on the newly...

Last update - 20:19 24/11/2005 Lapid: Name of Sharon's new party resembles Mussolini slogan By Mazal Mualem and David Ratner, Haaretz Correspondents Shinui Chairman Yosef Lapid said Thursday evening that had Prime Minister Ariel Sharon consulted with him, he would have urged him to change the name the latter chose for his new political party. Speaking at a Shinui council meeting, Lapid said that the name "Kadima" (Hebrew for forward) should be changed because it is similar to the Avanti slogan used by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The Shinui members who met Thursday did not set a date for primaries...

Knesset Member Ronny Brison warns of nationalist-religious attempted coup A short time after the withdrawal from Gaza, quiet reigned over the country, and the voices of opponents to the disengagement have been silenced. They have disappeared from the television screens, pushed to the margins of the news, to the last pages of the newspapers. Their words and calls have been changed with fresher, more updated news. But Knesset Member Ronny Brison (Shinui), who was once religious, says that the calm is elusive, and that describes religious-nationalist public as "Ortho-fascists," warning that they intend on trying to take over the state....

MK Avraham Poraz (Shinui) called on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday to halt state funding for a Yom Kippur campaign, which in his words "encourages religiosity among secular Israelis". But legal experts rebuffed Poraz's claims. Poraz was referring to an advertising campaign funded in part by the Prime Minister's Office, which calls on citizens to take part in prayer and discussions on Yom Kippur eve at 250 community centers across the nation. In one radio commercial a young man recounts his positive experience last Yom Kippur with the liturgy and prayer. "As a result of the prayers I experienced a...

Knesset rejects 3 no-confidence votes The Knesset rejected by wide majority three no-confidence votes issued by opposition parties. (Ilan Marciano) Peres blames Shinui for power of religious party Vice Premier Shimon Peres on Monday blamed the Shinui party for the power the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party has to demand changes in the state budget. "If Shinui would vote in favor of the budget, United Torah Judaism would not have bargaining power," Peres said. (Attila Somfalvi)(02.28.05, 15:27)

Feb. 7, 2005 12:38 | Updated Feb. 7, 2005 18:40 Elyashiv, Barak support referendum By GIL HOFFMAN, NINA GILBERT, YAAKOV KATZ Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv Photo: Hatzolah Jerusalem Degel Hatorah's preeminent halachic authority Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv said Monday that he would support the Disengagement Implementation Bill if it includes a national referendum. Elyashiv's statement comes a day after the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee spent a day heatedly debating making the bill contingent upon the results of a national referendum, as long it goes hand in hand with a new basic law limiting such a referendum to relinquishing...

The turmoil forced Mr. Sharon to put together a new coalition after his previous government collapsed over the issue and he is now relying on left-wing parties for support. Opinion polls consistently show Israelis in favor of the withdrawal plan. Nevertheless, Likud opponents want Mr. Sharon to hold a nationwide referendum on the matter, a move the prime minister has rejected and labeled a mere stalling tactic.

Dec. 22, 2004 1:29 | Updated Dec. 22, 2004 16:30 The Druse & Jewish soul searching By AMNON RUBINSTEIN Azzam Azzam, an Israeli-Arab jailed in Egypt since 1996 after being convicted for spying for Israel, surrounded by family members, arrives to his village of Mughar in northern Israel, Sunday Dec. 5, 2004. Photo: AP Barely did we have time to catch our breath after the release of Azzam Azzam from Egypt than we were jolted out of our euphoria by news of the deaths of five Beduin soldiers killed in the bombing of the Rafah outpost. Both cases involve non-Jewish...

Dec. 16, 2004 23:28 | Updated Dec. 16, 2004 23:37 Shinui MK Yehudit Naot dies By TONY JASSEN Shinui MK Yehudit Naot, the former Environmental Minister died Thursday evening in Haifa at the age of 60. She had been suffering from throat cancer. Naot, elected to the Knesset in 1999 on the Shinui party list, was Environmental Minister from February 2003 until leaving her position in September to focus on treating her throat cancer. She was the first minister in history to request the Environmental portfolio. She leaves behind a husband and three children. Yosef Lapid, chairman of Shinui, described...

Yishai says “Lapid needs a psychiatrist” Shas opens new front against Shinui head, accuses him of racism. Denies campaign related to coalition talks and fact Lapid agreed to serve with UTJ.Yifat Zohar Shas Chairman MK Eli Yishai. Shas Chairman MK Eli Yishai has declared a concerted campaign against Shinui Chairman and Justice Minister Yossef Lapid. “I recommend that the minister of health send the chief psychiatrist to examine the chairman of Shinui, Minister Yossef Lapid “, Yishai declared on Tuesday. At a meeting of Shas activists, Yishai said that the campaign would begin in the coming days and continue until...

Aug. 1, 2004 20:10 | Updated Aug. 2, 2004 17:45 Shinui reverses objections to coalition with Haredim By GIL HOFMAN AND NINA GILBERT Avraham Ravitz: "kick them in some sensitive spot" Photo: Knesset Lapid: "Sometimes you need to risk being asked 'why did you promise'." Photo: AP "There is a moment when you need to give up a bit of your ego and risk being asked 'why did you promise'," Shinui leader Yossef Lapid told reporters Monday after his Shinui faction voted overwhelmingly to consider staying in the government if United Torah Judaism becomes a supporter as long as the...

Sharon Fires Cabinet Member Who Allegedly Planned to Frame Fellow Minister The Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday fired an Israeli Cabinet minister who was taped discussing plans to frame a fellow minister for influence-peddling. The firing has thrown the Shinui Party, a member of Sharon's coalition, into turmoil. The centrist party has been a key backer of Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip this year, despite opposition among hard-liners that has cost Sharon his parliamentary majority. Partizky's firing takes effect on Tuesday. The scandal was not expected to affect the withdrawal plan....

As the debate regarding how to resist the expulsion of Gaza's Jews heats up, some who vehemently oppose fulfilling the 'illegal order' to transfer Arabs are calling such talk 'incitement' when it is aimed at preventing the transfer of Jews. There have been many condemnations recently against those rabbis and public figures encouraging soldiers to refuse the “illegal orders” to expel Jews from their homes. However little has been said about high-profile public officials who have called for the same acts – but only with regard to the expulsion of Arabs. Remarks featured in the weekly B’Sheva newspaper by Uri...

Dec. 23, 2003 Close the religious councils By MICHAEL BOYDEN As we approach the beginning of 2004, the chances that religious councils will be abolished by the end of this December seem increasingly remote. Not that anyone should be surprised. All too often, the Promised Land turns out, in fact, to be the land of unfulfilled promises. Although seldom heard of - except when they decide to go on strike and close their doors to those whom they are supposed to serve - the religious councils are meant to be there to meet our needs. The Jewish Religious Services Law,...

Dec. 11, 2003 The Turbo touch The panel entrusted with the task of choosing a new attorney-general earlier in the week disqualified Justice Minister Yosef Lapid's candidate, Yoram Turbowicz, seemingly on a technicality. In fact, the commission's motives went deeper. Much was made of the fact that the committee nixed Turbowicz because by its count he hadn't spent the minimum time required – 10 years – in legal practice. By Turbowicz's own reckoning it was a full dozen years. But to quibble over these details is to miss the point. The committee never got to seriously deliberate Turbowicz's credentials, nor...

Nov. 4, 2003 Shinui to formally propose evacuating Netzarim By ASSOCIATED PRESS JERUSALEM (1) Two Israeli soldiers comfort each other after the bodies of three of their comrades were taken away at the Netzarim Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. (2) Justice Minister Tommy Lapid and (3) Interior Minister Avraham Poraz Photo: AP Shinui, the second largest party in the coalition, proposes dismantling a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and halting targeted killings of Palestinian terrorists to revive peace talks, a spokesman said Tuesday. The proposal by the moderate Shinui party, to be formally presented next week, would be...

Oct. 13, 2003 Ministers steer clear of 'Geneva' deal By GRACE B. MCMILLAN Not a single minister in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet is expected to support the Geneva Initiative hammered out over the weekend by a team of Israeli leftists and Palestinians in Amman. Former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, who initiated the plan, had expressed hope of attracting support from Shinui and Likud MKs. The two sides in Amman agreed to bring the deal to their governments for approval. But Shinui leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid released a statement criticizing the initiative and National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Partitzky, who considers...

Last Update: 08/10/2003 23:05 NRP MKs to urge coalition exit over Religious Ministry row By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Staff Members of the National Religious Party faction in the Knesset decided Wednesday evening that they would recommend for the party to quit the government unless its demands are met regarding the breakup of the Religious Affairs Ministry and the regional religious councils. The party's central committee will meet after the Sukkot holiday, which begins Friday evening and lasts until the following Saturday. During the meeting, which came in the wake of a cabinet decision earlier in the day...

Oct. 8, 2003 Rabbinical courts transferred to 'secular' Justice Ministry By HERB KEINON The cabinet voted to dismantle the Religious Affairs Ministry Wednesday and transfer authority over the rabbinical courts to the Justice Ministry headed by Shinui leader Yosef Lapid, a move that infuriated the National Religious Party and triggered a coalition crisis. The NRP, which threatened to leave the government over the issue, wants the Chief Rabbinate and the rabbinical courts to remain united and come under the purview of the Prime Minister's Office, in order to keep them out of Lapid's administrative orbit. The NRP faction decided Wednesday...