Why Hast Thou Forsaken Us: Shas' Post-Revolutionary Crisis

Yair Ettinger, a journalist and researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute's "Ultra-Orthodox in Israel" program as well as a fellow at the Hartman Institute in New York, is the co-author, together with Nissim Leon, of the recently published book A Flock With No Shepherd: Shas Leadership The Day After Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. It analyzes the causes of the movement's identity, leadership and popularity woes, some resulting from and others coinciding with the death of its towering founder and spiritual father in 2013. This episode of the Tel Aviv Review was brought to you by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.