Shas and Likud: Competing for Mizrahi Voters in Israel

Literally translated as “Bibi Needs a Strong Lion—Shas,” this 2019 campaign billboard plays on the name of Shas leader Aryeh Deri—aryeh means “lion”—to signal that Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu and his Likud Party rely on Shas’s strength. The ad underscores both partnership and rivalry between Likud, Israel’s dominant political force since 2009, and Shas, the Sephardic/Mizrahi Orthodox party that competes for Mizrahi voters (especially working-class voters as this other ad attests, as well as religiously traditional voters), yet reliably backs Likud in coalition governments.