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Religion, State, and the Jewish Identity Crisis in Israel by Yedidia Z

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Religion, State, and the Jewish Identity Crisis in Israel by Yedidia Z Religion, state, and the Jewish identity crisis in Israel BY YEDIDIA Z. STERN The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. This paper is part of a series on Imagining Israel’s Future, made possible by support from the Morningstar Philanthropic Fund. The views expressed in this report are those of its author and do not represent the views of the Morningstar Philanthropic Fund, their officers, or employees. Copyright © 2017 Brookings Institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20036 U.S.A. www.brookings.edu Table of Contents 1 The Author 3 The new Israeli order 4 Cultural duality in Jewish society in Israel 8 The debate about the role of religion in the state 10 The issues in dispute 21 Conclusion 22 The Center for Middle East Policy 1 | Religion, state, and the Jewish identity crisis in Israel The Author rofessor Yedidia Z. Stern (S.J.D. Harvard University) is the Vice President of Research at Israel Democracy Institute and a full pro- Pfessor and former dean of the law faculty of Bar- Ilan University in Israel. He was chairman of the National Committee for Civic Studies in Israel; chairman of Israel Science Foundation’s Committee for Assessment of Legal Research; a member of the government’s commission of inquiry into the state’s treatment of the residents of Gush Katif after the disengagement from Gaza and northern Samaria; an advisor to the Ministry of Justice on the Compa- nies Law; and the president of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Israeli Judaism. He is a member of multiple committees and boards of public or- ganizations, including Bank Leumi. He wrote and edited 21 books in his areas of professional interest. His awards include the Zeltner Prize for excellence in Legal Research in Israel (2009) and the Gorni Prize for special contribution in public law (2012). 3 | Religion, state, and the Jewish identity crisis in Israel The new Israeli order n June 2015, Israeli President Reuven Riv- In the following pages, I will examine one of the lin delivered a seminal address, which came greatest threats to the concept of partnership be- to be known as the “four tribes speech.” tween populations in Israel: the tension between ISpeaking at the annual Herzliya conference, he religion and state. Although issues of religion and surveyed the expected demographic trends in Is- state in Israel are important not only to Jewish raeli society in the next generation. He showed Israelis but to non-Jews as well—most notably that while during the 20th century there was a Muslim and Christian Arab citizens of Israel, and clear and firm secular majority in Israel, over the to a certain degree Jews outside of Israel, some of coming years, however, this majority will dwin- whom are influenced by what happens in Israel dle and will be replaced by a “new Israeli order” in this realm—in this paper I will focus only on composed of four major identity groups that the intra-Jewish and intra-Israel tensions. are fairly equal in size with no clear hegemonic center: ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jews, national- religious (a.k.a. Modern Orthodox) Jews, secular Jews, and Arabs. President Rivlin stressed that this new Israeli or- der is not merely a prediction; it already exists among young Israeli schoolchildren. Since the Israeli education system is divided into separate streams, with each serving one of the four iden- tity groups, we can be fairly precise in project- ing that the future demographics of the county will be roughly one quarter ultra-Orthodox, another quarter Arab, approximately 15 per- cent national-religious, and the balance—some 38 percent—secular Jews. This distribution is not static; the emerging trend is that the secular group will continue to decrease and there will be an increase in the share of ultra-Orthodox and national-religious Jews, whose rate of natural in- crease far exceeds that of secular Jews and Arab citizens of Israel. According to President Rivlin, “the new Israeli order now requires us to abandon the accepted view of a majority and minorities, and move to a new concept of partnership between the various population sectors in our society. Clarification of the essence of this partnership is a task of all of Israeli society.” 4 | Center for Middle East Policy at BROOKINGS Cultural duality in Jewish society in Israel udaism is a composite that includes elements ment of the State of Israel was seen by many Jews of religion, nationality, society, and culture. In as a miracle that realized the dream of genera- the past, these identity components were per- tions of Jews. Jceived as constituting an integrated whole. Howev- er, a series of major changes in the lifestyle of Jews Many hoped that the founding of the State of Is- in recent generations has caused this amalgam to rael would help to resolve the question of Jewish break down. identity. Gathering a dispersed group in one place, imposing full political responsibility on its mem- The most important of these changes is secular- bers, and creating cultural hegemony in the public ization. The last 250 years have seen a significant sphere should have provided the basic material for decrease in the centrality of the religious com- building the nation. But today, after nearly 70 years ponent of Jewish identity. Whereas in the past, of independence, it can be seen that rather than re- moving away from religion generally meant aban- solving the question of identity, the Jewish state has doning Jewish identity completely, many Jews become the main arena for the debate about the today opt for a lifestyle that is devoid of religious nature of Jewish identity. The success of political observance without giving up or compromising Zionism raised serious questions that required con- their Jewish identity. Instead, they emphasize ceptual and practical decisions as to the nature and other components of Jewish identity—cultural, meaning of the Jewish collective. national, and social. This change is a watershed in Jewish history, as it brings the question of the Indeed, debate is one of the hallmarks of life in Is- essence of Judaism to the fore. As a result of this rael. There is a very broad and deep area of disagree- change, although Jews in Israel have a common ment, sometimes quite fierce, which includes a lack destiny, which makes them stand together vis-à- of consensus about the cultural orientation of Jews vis the world, they do not always feel that they in Israel, the nature of the Israeli public sphere, and are bound by a shared purpose. the role of religion in the state. The second major change in Jewish life is the es- Many Jews in Israel live a life of cultural duality. tablishment of the State of Israel. For thousands They have two cultural foundations: Western-lib- of years Jews lived in exile. During that time, the eral culture and traditional Jewish culture. Present- public aspects of Judaism were silenced and it be- ing these two cultures as distinct alternatives is came a way of life for individuals, families, and somewhat artificial; they are interlocked and nour- communities. The establishment of the State of ish each other, and each is an organic part of the Israel transformed this reality. The Jewish people other. For the purpose of this analysis, however, I began to control territory, and were transformed will treat them as separate cultures, so as to sharpen from a minority ruled by others to a Jewish ma- the focus. jority responsible for itself. The establishment of the state created a Jewish public sphere that has In general, the three Jewish identity groups in Is- Jewish politics, Jewish armed forces, a Jewish le- rael all identify with both Jewish and Western cul- gal system, and a Jewish public domain. This is ture, albeit at different levels of internalization and an exciting cultural, national, and religious de- awareness. Each of these cultures serves all three velopment. It is no wonder that the establish- Jewish groups as a formative component of identity 5 | Religion, state, and the Jewish identity crisis in Israel that shapes their lifestyles and behavior. Thus, for fuse to conduct the cultural debate on a pluralis- example, many secular Israelis use certain symbolic tic basis and embrace monism instead. and material products of Jewish culture and even of Jewish religion. Similarly, although the identity This leads to the following question: How it is lexicon of national-religious and ultra-Orthodox possible to function in a situation of dual cultur- Jews is based on Jewish religious literature, they al loyalty, when the two cultures are sometimes have adopted central values of liberal culture, such at odds with each other? The question is not new, as equality, self-fulfillment, freedom, acceptance of but has become much more prominent and acute science, and the rule of law. A large majority of the in recent years. It is hurled at all Israeli Jews with Jews in Israel thus shape their lives and draw their increasing force. It raises questions about Israel’s values from the deep wellsprings of both of these social cohesion and about the very ability of Is- two cultures. raeli society to endure. This cultural duality has great potential to enrich As will be seen below, each of the three Jew- Israeli society.
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