# Black Color (Tzeva Shachor): what they've published

Close Read, episode 28. Black Color (צבע שחור), list 28, ballot letters נר. Published October 16, 2026. Israel's Knesset election is on October 27, 2026.

- Page: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/the-color-black/
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PjhO6Gb-Mw
- Audio: https://media.closeread.show/audio/closeread-028-the-color-black-37520c7d.mp3

I couldn't find a platform for this list. What it has put out is one statement, and it says the list has a single goal: stopping what it calls the "draft decree" against yeshiva students. [S5](#source-s5)

## Who is Black Color?

Tzeva Shachor, Black Color, with the subtitle Shield of the Torah World, runs under the ballot letters Nun and Resh, with eighteen candidates headed by Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Baumrind. [S1](#source-s1) [S2](#source-s2) [S4](#source-s4) The list was submitted by a registered party called Supporters of Bukharan Jewry. [S2](#source-s2) [S3](#source-s3)

## What has Black Color published?

I couldn't find a platform, a website, a social media account, or an interview with the list's leader. [S9](#source-s9)

What there is: a statement the list issued when it filed its candidates on September 8, printed in full by two Haredi news sites. [S5](#source-s5) I couldn't find the original release, so this is the party's statement as quoted in the press. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about security and foreign policy?

I couldn't find a stated position on security or foreign policy. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about accountability for October 7?

On October 7 accountability, I found nothing published. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about the economy and the cost of living?

I found no position on the economy or the cost of living. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about housing?

Nothing on housing either. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about religion and state?

On religion and state, the statement is about the Haredi draft. It says, and I'm translating: "The single overarching goal of our list is to prevent religious persecution in the matter of the draft decree, and to act in every legitimate way against the decree." [S5](#source-s5)

It goes on: "We will not agree to any of the new formulas of compromises," other than "the old deferral arrangement as it was and as it was practiced since the founding of the state." [S5](#source-s5) So the demand is a return to the old system of deferring service for yeshiva students. [S5](#source-s5)

The statement also says the list follows the view of leading Torah scholars "from all circles" on this issue, and names several rabbis. [S5](#source-s5) It doesn't address Shabbat, marriage, conversion, or religious funding.

## What does Black Color say about the judiciary and governance?

I couldn't find a stated position on the courts or how government is run. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about education?

On education, I found nothing published. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about health?

I found no position on health. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about social welfare, pensions and the elderly?

Nothing on welfare, pensions, or the elderly either. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about Arab citizens and minorities?

There's nothing published on Arab citizens or minorities that I could find. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about immigration, absorption and the diaspora?

On immigration, absorption, or the diaspora, I found nothing published. [S9](#source-s9)

## What does Black Color say about the environment, energy and transportation?

I found no position on the environment, energy, or transportation. [S9](#source-s9)

## What Black Color puts front and center

What the list puts front and center is the draft, which the statement calls its "single" goal. [S5](#source-s5)

One note on the name. "Tzeva Shachor" is also the name of an alert network that warns yeshiva students when military police are coming to make arrests. In August, that network said it "is not a political body." [S8](#source-s8)

## What Black Color hasn't published

So on everything except the draft, I couldn't find a stated position in the material I reviewed. [S9](#source-s9)

## Chapters

- 0:00 Intro
- 0:21 About this series
- 0:51 Who they are
- 1:09 What they've published
- 1:34 The positions
- 1:48 Economy, Religion and state
- 2:46 Courts and governance, Education, Health: no stated position
- 2:59 Arab citizens, Immigration: no stated position
- 3:13 What they put front and center
- 3:37 What's missing

## Sources

- <a id="source-s1"></a>S1: [Central Elections Committee, "רשימות המועמדים לכנסת" for the 26th Knesset (row: נר, צבע שחור: מגן עולם התורה). Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260908210824/https://www.gov.il/he/pages/candidates-lists-26](https://www.gov.il/he/pages/candidates-lists-26) (CEC list index, Hebrew, published page updated 2026-09-30)
- <a id="source-s2"></a>S2: [Ballot name "צבע שחור: מגן עולם התורה" (the CEC uses a dash), submitted by the party "תומכי יהדות בוכרה", 18 candidates headed by באומרינד אליהו אליעזר. Also the IDI-hosted print of the page as filed. Rechecked live 2026-10-02: unchanged](https://www.gov.il/he/pages/shachor_list28) (CEC list page, Hebrew, published 2026-09-08, updated 2026-09-29)
- <a id="source-s3"></a>S3: [Registrar of Parties entry for "תומכי יהדות בוכרה" (party no. 59-900185-6, registered 12 Sept 2022), registered goals](https://data.gov.il/dataset/justice-miflagot) (Registrar record, Hebrew, published dataset updated 2026-09-30)
- <a id="source-s4"></a>S4: [Ynet: the CEC approved 38 lists and their letters, including נר for this list. Used only to confirm approval](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/s1ibdii5fe) (News report of a CEC decision, Hebrew, published 2026-09-27)
- <a id="source-s5"></a>S5: [Statement issued on list submission, 8 Sept 2026, printed in full and identically by HaMechadesh ("במפלגה אומרים") and Kikar HaShabbat ("במפלגה אומרים"); Emess quotes its first sentence ("בהודעת המפלגה נמסר") and credits a photo to "דוברות 'צבע שחור: מגן עולם התורה'". Original release not found on a party channel](https://hm-news.co.il/654807/) (Party statement reproduced in news, Hebrew, published 2026-09-08)
- <a id="source-s6"></a>S6: [Arutz 7 on the Bnei Brak march of 27 Sept, which it reports doubled as the party's launch. Quotes the party: it "מביעה גינוי חריף ומוחלט על תקיפת העיתונאים" (strongly condemns the attack on journalists). Not a policy; not in the script](https://www.inn.co.il/news/707215) (Party response quoted in news, Hebrew, published 2026-09-28)
- <a id="source-s7"></a>S7: [Israel Democracy Institute, 2026 elections party page: only the candidate print (S2) for this list, no platform link](https://www.idi.org.il/policy/parties-and-elections/elections/2026-1/) (Research institute page, Hebrew, published 2026)
- <a id="source-s8"></a>S8: [Emess, 17 Aug 2026: the "צבע שחור" alert network says it "אינה גוף פוליטי" (is not a political body). Used only to tell viewers the list and the network are separate](https://www.emess.co.il/radio/1916685) (Statement by a different organization, reported in news, Hebrew, published 2026-08-17)
- <a id="source-s9"></a>S9: Queries, platforms and retrieval attempts, 2026-09-30 and 2026-10-02 (Research log, Hebrew, English, published n/a)