Secularism and Religion in Jewish-Israeli Politics
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Secularism and Religion in Jewish-Israeli Politics Common discourse on Jewish identity in Israel is dominated by the view that Jewish- Israelis can, and should, be either religious or secular. Moving away from this conventional framework, this book examines the role of secularism and religion in Jewish society and politics. With a focus on the “traditionists” (masortim) who comprise over a third of the Jewish-Israeli population, the author examines issues of religion, tradition, and secu- larism in Israel, giving a fresh approach to the widening theoretical discussion regard- ing the thesis of secularization and modernity, and exploring the wider implications of this identity. Yadgar’s conclusions have significant social, cultural, and political impli- cations, serving not only as a new contribution to the academic discourse on Jewish- Israeli identity, but as a platform upon which traditionist positions on central issues of Israeli politics can be heard. Offering a detailed investigation into a central and important Jewish-Israeli identity construct, the book is relevant not only to the study of Jewish identity in Israel but also within the wider social-theoretical issues of religion, tradition, modernity, and secularization. The book will be of great interest to students of Israeli society and to anyone looking into the issues of Jewish identity, Israeli nationalism and ethnicity, religion and politics in Israel, and the sociology of religion. Yaacov Yadgar is a senior lecturer in the department of political studies at Bar Ilan University in Israel. His research deals with issues of nationalism, ethnicity, religion, and Israeli identity. His previous book, Our Story: National Narratives in the Israeli Press, was published in Hebrew in 2004 and he has published a number of articles on the subject of nationalism and national identity. Israeli History, Politics and Society Series Editor: Efraim Karsh King’s College London This series provides a multidisciplinary examination of all aspects of Israeli history, politics, and society, and serves as a means of communication between the various communities interested in Israel: academics, policy- makers, practitioners, journalists, and the informed public. 1. Peace in the Middle East 7. In Search of Identity The challenge for Israel Jewish aspects in Israeli culture Edited by Efraim Karsh Edited by Dan Urian and Efraim Karsh 2. The Shaping of Israeli Identity Myth, memory and trauma 8. Israel at the Polls, 1996 Edited by Robert Wistrich and Edited by Daniel J Elazar and David Ohana Shmuel Sandler 3. Between War and Peace 9. From Rabin to Netanyahu Dilemmas of Israeli security Israel’s troubled agenda Edited by Efraim Karsh Edited by Efraim Karsh 4. US–Israeli Relations at the 10. Fabricating Israeli History Crossroads The “new historians”, second Edited by Gabriel Sheffer revised edition Efraim Karsh 5. Revisiting the Yom Kippur War 11. Divided against Zion Edited by P R Kumaraswamy Anti-Zionist opposition in Britain to a Jewish state in 6. Israel Palestine, 1945–48 The dynamics of change Rory Miller and continuity Edited by David Levi-Faur, 12. Peacemaking in a Divided Society Gabriel Sheffer and Israel after Rabin David Vogel Edited by Sasson Sofer 13. A Twenty-Year Retrospective of 23. Jerusalem Divided Egyptian–Israeli Relations The Armistice Region, Peace in spite of everything 1947–67 Ephraim Dowek Raphael Israeli 14. Global Politics 24. Decision on Palestine Deferred Essays in honor of David Vital America, Britain and wartime Edited by Abraham Ben-Zvi and diplomacy, 1939–45 Aharon Klieman Monty Noam Penkower 15. Parties, Elections and Cleavages 25. A Dissenting Democracy Israel in comparative and The case of “Peace Now”, an theoretical perspective Israeli peace movement Edited by Reuven Y Hazan and Magnus Norell Moshe Maor 26. British, Israel and Anglo-Jewry, 16. Israel and the Polls 1999 1947–57 Edited by Daniel J. Elazar and Natan Aridan M. Ben Mollov 27. Israeli Identity 17. Public Policy in Israel In search of a successor to the Edited by David Nachmias and pioneer, Tsabar and settler Gila Menahem Lilly Weissbrod 18. Developments in Israeli Public 28. The Israeli Palestinians Administration An Arab minority in the Edited by Moshe Maor Jewish state Edited by Alexander Bligh 19. Israeli Diplomacy and the Quest for Peace 29. Israel, the Hashemites and Mordechai Gazit the Palestinians The fateful triangle 20. Israeli-Romanian Relations at the Edited by Efraim Karsh and End of Ceauces¸cu’s Era P R Kumaraswamy Yosef Govrin 30. Last Days in Israel 21. John F. Kennedy and the Politics Abraham Diskin of Arms Sales to Israel Abraham Ben-Zvi 31. War in Palestine, 1948 Strategy and diplomacy 22. Green Crescent over Nazareth David Tal The displacement of Christians by Muslims in the Holy Land 32. Rethinking the Middle East Raphael Israeli Efraim Karsh 33. Ben-Gurion against the Knesset 42. Israeli Democracy at the Giora Goldberg Crossroads Raphael Cohen-Almagor 34. Trapped Fools Thirty years of Israeli policy in 43. Israeli Institutions at the the Territories Crossroads Schlomo Gazit Raphael Cohen-Almagor 35. Israel’s Quest for Recognition and 44. The Israeli–Palestine Peace Acceptance in Asia Process Negotiations, Garrison State diplomacy 1999–2001 Jacob Abadi Within reach Gilead Sher 36. The Harp and Shield of David Ireland, Zionism and the State of 45. Ben-Gurion’s Political Struggles, Israel, 1937–63 1963–67 Eliash Shulamit A lion in winter Zaki Shalom 37. H V Evatt and the Establishment of Israel 46. Ben-Gurion, Zionism and The undercover Zionist American Jewry 1948–1963 Daniel Mandel Ariel Feldestein 38. Navigating Perilous Waters 47. The Origins of the American– An Israeli strategy for peace Israeli Alliance and security The Jordanian factor Ephraim Sneh Abraham Ben-Zvi 39. Lyndon B Johnson and the Politics 48. The Harp and the Shield of Arms Sales to Israel of David In the shadow of the hawk Ireland, Zionism and the State Abraham Ben-Zvi of Israel Shulamit Eliash 40. Israel at the Polls 2003 Edited by Shmeul Sandler, Ben M. 49. Israel’s National Security Mollov and Jonathan Rynhold Issues and challenges since the Yom Kippur War 41. Between Capital and Land Efraim Inbar The Jewish National Fund’s finances and land-purchase 50. The Rise of Israel priorities in Palestine, 1939–45 A history of a revolutionary state Eric Engel Tuten Jonathan Adelman 51. Israel and the Family of Nations 52. Secularism and Religion in The Jewish Nation-state and Jewish-Israeli Politics human rights Traditionists and modernity Alexander Yakobson and Amnon Yaacov Yadgar Rubinstein Israel: The First Hundred Years (Mini Series) Edited by Efraim Karsh 1. Israel’s Transition from 4. Israel in the International Arena Community to State Edited by Efraim Karsh Edited by Efraim Karsh 5. Israel in the Next Century 2. From War to Peace? Edited by Efraim Karsh Edited by Efraim Karsh 3. Politics and Society since 1948 Edited by Efraim Karsh Secularism and Religion in Jewish-Israeli Politics Traditionists and modernity Yaacov Yadgar First published 2011 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2011 Yaacov Yadgar The right of Yaacov Yadgar to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Yadgar, Yaacov. Secularism and religion in Jewish–Israeli politics : traditionists and modernity / Yaacov Yadgar. p. cm.—(Israeli history, politics and society) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Orthodox Judaism—Israel—Relations—Nontraditional Jews. 2. Secularism—Israel. 3. Jews—Israel—Identity. 4. Judaism and secularism—Israel. 5. Religion and state—Israel. 6. Israel— Politics and government. I. Title. BM390.Y315 2010 306.6′9683095694—dc22 2010002480 ISBN 0-203-84724-5 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 978-0-415-56329-1 (hbk) ISBN 978-0-203-84724-4 (ebk) In loving memory of Charles S. Liebman Supported by a research grant from the Israel Science Foundation’s Trustees (2004–6) *** This book was published with the support of the Israel Science Foundation Contents Introduction 1 1 Theoretical framework 9 2 Traditionism and choice 36 3 “Method”, “consistency”, and guilt 67 4 Traditionism and observance 101 5 Cross-pressures and traditionist solitude 129 6 Traditionism, ethnicity, and gender 149 7 Traditionists’ images of “the orthodox” and “the secular” 188 8 Rabbis, halachic reform, and the non-orthodox movements 231 Conclusion 260 Notes 271 Bibliography 276 Index 281 Introduction This book aims at filling a significant void which exists in both public and academic discourses regarding Jewish identity – or, rather, Jewish identities – in Israel. This void stems from the overbearing dominance of what I shall term “the religious vs. secular discourse”, which presents a bipolar, binary model of two mutually exclusive opposites. These opposites are supposed to define the horizon of possibilities available for the construction and mainten- ance of Jewish identity. As far as this discourse is concerned Jewish-Israelis can (and should) be “either religious or secular”.