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.
Credits
© David Cohen 156 / Shutterstock.com.
Discussion Questions
What do you think attracts many Mizrahi voters to the Likud and Shas parties in particular?
Why do you think the Shas party is trying to affiliate itself with Netanyahu?
What does the rest of the image (outside the billboard) tell you about what types of voters Shas is appealing to?
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Political engagement is central to Mizrahi Jewish identity in Israel, from the Israeli Black Panthers, to Menahem Begin’s Likud, to the emergence of Shas.