Shinui
Shinui or שינוי is a secular, centrist political party in Israel. The name Shinui means change in Hebrew. In the election of 2003 it gained 15 out of 120 Knesset seats, making it the third-largest party, after Likud and Labor. Its best known platform plank is a call for complete separation of religion and state. It demands civil marriage, the operation of public transportation, stores, theaters, etc. on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath), removal of laws concerning selling and importing non-kosher food, drafting of Ultra-Orthodox Jews into the IDF, and a halt to payments to Ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students.Because of such demands, it is sometimes accused of being anti-religious or hating the religous, and so some, even secular people, refuse to vote for it, even if they mostly agree with the platform. The party's official position is that it does not oppose religion but merely seeks to mend the injustices that are being done on its behalf.
Economically, it supports a free market, privatization of state companies, and a lowering of taxes, especially taxes on the middle class.
As for the situation with the Palestinians, it supports the policy of occupation of Palestinian cities if necessary in response to terrorist attacks, and negociation with moderate Palestinians, but not with Arafat, concerning the final status and a Palestinian state, which would include removal of settlements and withdrawal from most of the West Bank and Gaza. It asserts that both the Right and Left mislead the public. The Right, by claiming that only force will solve the problem, and the Left, by claiming that the attacks will cease after a unilateral withdrawal from the territories.
It has refused to join any coalition which includes the Ultra-Orthodox parties (Shas and United Torah Judaism).
The party's leader is Tommy Lapid.
