Shas Places Bukharian Community Representative Yosef Elnatanov 11th on Knesset List

Israel’s Oct. 27 election for the 26th Knesset took clearer shape in early September as 38 parties submitted candidate lists. Among the newcomers on Shas’s slate is Yosef Elnatanov (also rendered Yossi Ilantanov), described by multiple outlets as a representative of Israel’s Bukharan Jewish community and placed 11th.

The Times of Israel reported that Shas chairman Aryeh Deri retained the top spot, with a notable addition of reservist Maj. (res.) Dror Amos in sixth place. Elnatanov was listed among the party’s new names further down the ticket. Israel National News similarly identified “Yosef Alnathanov” as a Bukharan community representative in the 11th position after the Council of Torah Sages approved the roster.

According to The Petek’s candidate profile, Ilantanov is principal of the Beit Yosef Talmud Torah in Holon and rabbi of the Beit Asher VeMordechai synagogue in Kiryat Shalom, Tel Aviv, and sits on a beit hora’ah. Polls cited by the Times of Israel projected Shas winning roughly seven or eight seats—down from 11—leaving the 11th slot outside current realistic ranges unless the party outperforms those surveys.

For Bukharian Jews in Israel and in the Diaspora, the placement is notable even if not currently projected to enter the Knesset: it puts a named Bukharan communal educator on a national party list ahead of a scheduled election that will be Israel’s first on-time national vote since 1988.

Sources: Times of Israel; Israel National News; The Petek. Image: Beny Shlevich / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.