---
tags:
  - Organization
  - PoliticalParty
  - Israel
category: "Foreign Government"
summary: "The Shas Party is an orthodox political party in Israel, which emerged as a significant force in Israeli politics."
start: 1984
location: "Jerusalem, Israel"
---
The [[Shas Party]] is an orthodox political party in [[Israel]], which emerged as a significant force in Israeli politics. It was at odds with [[Menachem Schneerson]], the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and gained influence within the [[Likud Party]]-controlled Israeli government.

According to [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], in 1987 the [[Iran-Israel Joint Committee]] redirected funds from the Lubavitcher yeshivahs to the Shas yeshivahs, as the committee and Schneerson parted ways, and the Likud Party considered the support of [[Ovadia Yousef]], an Iraqi-Jewish rabbi who controlled Shas, essential due to his large following in Israel's Middle Eastern Jewish communities.[^1]

### Footnotes

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. Sheridan Square Press, 1992 (TrineDay reprint, 2015).