Platform Summary

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Platform Summary https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ui=2&ik=1334de43e7&attid=0.12&permmsgid=msg-f:162924487822 4465459&th=169c3d95aab19e33&view=att&disp=safe&realattid=f_jtshzn3610 Platform Summary www.zehut.org.il The document in your hands is much more than a party platform. It is a Jewish vision and a message of national liberty of historic proportions. To perfect the world in the Kingdom of the Almighty, Moshe Feiglin 03 23 Objectives The Economic Plan 05 31 The Structure of the Government Liberty and Internal and and its Reduction External Security 09 37 The Social Program Israel’s Security and Diplomatic Plan 17 2 Judaism, Culture and State 3 Objectives The Structure of the Government and its Objectives Reduction Zehut is an Israeli-Jewish party that advocates liberty and aspires to reform society The Social Program and the world out of loyalty to the God of Israel. The party will act to lead the State of Israel as a Jewish state and strive to achieve the following goals: Judaism, Culture and State } A Jewish State – A state that matures from Zionism of existence to Zionism of destiny; from survival mentality to the mentality and challenge of perfection of the The Economic Plan world. Liberty and } A Liberty State – A state that restores responsibility to the citizen and reduces Internal and its involvement in private lives to a minimum. The areas of state involvement External Security will be limited to the extent possible to the legal systems, security and national Israel’s Security infrastructures. and Diplomatic Plan } A State of Family and Community – A state that fortifies family values and encourages community. These are the foundation stones of society. } A State of Abundance – A state that maintains an open economy within the refining framework of the Jewish culture of kindness and mutual responsibility. } A Sovereign State – A state that actualizes and fortifies its sovereignty in all parts 2 of the Land of Israel under its control: first and foremost, Jerusalem and the 3 Temple Mount. A state that develops Jerusalem as a diplomatic and spiritual center for the Nation of Israel and for all humanity. } A State of Peace – A state that strives to end warfare and bloodshed by defeating its enemies. A state that works for the good of humanity and the world. 4 5 Objectives The Structure of the The Structure of the Government Government and its Reduction and its Reduction The Social Program A variety of modifications and reforms must be made in the structure of government in order to expand civil liberties on the one hand and to strengthen governance on Judaism, Culture the other. and State The Reduction of Government Ministries The Economic Plan The current structure of government is characterized by a cumbersome and wasteful Liberty and mechanism that makes it difficult to implement policy. Zehut proposes a limited Internal and External Security and efficient government structure in which only 11 ministers will serve, instead of the 29 serving today. In addition, this limited structure will significantly reduce the Israel’s Security and Diplomatic government’s financial expenses. Plan The structure of government that Zehut proposes includes the following ministries: The Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Jewry, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Resources and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and Housing. 4 5 Opposition to Excessive Legislation As part of the concept of civil liberty, Zehut views over-legislation as a negative phenomenon. Zehut intends to oppose laws that have no real need and to act to eliminate unnecessary laws. The Community Model Decisions on the nature of the public space must be in the hands of the communities, not the government. Zehut will promote a community model in which local authorities will be divided into small and homogeneous communities and will receive some of the powers currently reserved for the state or local authority. Among the many powers that will be passed on to the community are laws relating to the nature of Shabbat, noise laws, laws relating to art, landscape, stalls, fairs and street performances. The Legal System Since the constitutional revolution led by Aharon Barak, the principle of separation of powers has been violated, with the Supreme Court appropriating too many powers for itself. Zehut will act to create the following changes in order to reduce the court’s powers and restore the balance between the systems: } The court will not be able to intervene in questions of essence and in matters of a political nature. } If the High Court of Justice finds a flaw in a law enacted by the Knesset and deems it unacceptable, the Knesset will have to reauthorize the law. If it has done so, the High Court will not be able to nullify the law. 6 7 Zehut will act to eliminate unnecessary laws. } The Judicial Appointment Committee, in addition to the Minister of Justice, shall Objectives be composed only of members of Knesset who have been elected by the Knesset by secret ballot. The Structure of the Government and its 1 } The “right of standing” principle will be reinstated, and the use of the tools of Reduction reasonableness and active interpretation of the law will be restricted. The Social Program In addition, Zehut will make a series of amendments regarding the role of the Attorney General: Judaism, Culture and State } The role of the Attorney General and the position of Head of Prosecution (the State Attorney’s Office) will be split and will no longer be held by one person. The Economic Plan } The government may appoint an attorney to represent it in court, and may appoint and dismiss its legal advisor. Liberty and Internal and External Security } The tenure of the Attorney General will end upon the end of the government’s term of office. Israel’s Security and Diplomatic Plan } Elected officials will not be obliged to comply with the advice of their legal advisor. 1. The right of standing is a threshold condition required of a person to file a legal action, according to which the plaintiff is required to be the one who was harmed 6 by the wrongdoing for which the claim was filed. 7 8 9 Objectives The Social Program The Structure of the Government and its Reduction Education The Social Program The law in the State of Israel explicitly states that the Ministry of Education is responsible for educating our children. Zehut strongly opposes this concept and Judaism, Culture posits that those responsible for the child’s education are first and foremost the and State parents, who must determine the framework of the curriculum and the contents that the child will learn. The Economic Plan Unfortunately, although national expenditure on education is currently the highest in Israel, the results are bleak, as evidenced by comparative international tests. Liberty and World Schooling Achievements (2015) Budget of Government Ministries (2014) Internal and * In billions of shekels Singapore 1 Israel’s Education 86 Security Hong Kong 2 and security 66.1 Finland 5 health 27.9 Switzerland 7 Infrastructure Canada 9 18.2 Israel 39 Internal Security 14.9 Source: OECD Source: Budget Department - Treasury Ministry 8 Accordingly, Zehut proposes the voucher method, practiced in several places around 9 the world: a system that combines public funding and free competition, and most importantly, restores the responsibility for education to parents. As part of this method, parents who so wish will be able to directly receive from the Ministry of Education a voucher of monetary value that they can use in the school of their choice to fund their children’s studies. In correspondence to the current budget, the voucher would be NIS 3,000 a month per child. Adoption of the voucher system (parallel to the current system) will create a variety of independent schools that will compete for the parents’ vouchers, thus Zehut’s proposed voucher method will restore responsibility for education to parents. offering a curriculum adapted to the wishes of the parents and not to the will of the bureaucratic system. In addition, these schools will be able to offer very high salaries to teachers in order to attract the best, as is the case in high-tech, for example. Rehabilitation of Family Status The independence and strength of the family unit are the cornerstone of society as a whole. Zehut opposes the state’s intervention in the character of the family. The only area in which the state will have to intervene in family decisions is in the case of the disintegration of the family unit. However, the state should be a bridge between the sides and not make the situation worse. Some of the steps that Zehut offers in this regard are: 10 } Cancellation of the Tender Years Clause, in accordance with the 11 Zehut will formulate procedures according to which a well-founded suspicion of a false complaint will constitute grounds for opening a criminal investigation. Objectives The Structure of the Government and its recommendations of the Schnitt Committee. Reduction } Under the current law, most of the burden of child support (alimony) rests upon The Social Program the father. This law does not take sufficient account of the time that the children stay with the father or of the mother’s economic situation. Zehut believes that Judaism, Culture this law is unequal and irrelevant to today’s reality, and will act to correct it. and State } Examination of the laws and procedures of the Family Courts.
Recommended publications
  • 1 Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 5/19 Aktuelles Aus Israelischen
    Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 5/19 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 1.-15. März Die Themen dieser Ausgabe 1. Versehentlicher Raketenangriff ...................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Israelische Parlamentswahlen ....................................................................................................................................... 3 3. Unruhen am Tempelberg ................................................................................................................................................. 6 4. Medienquerschnitt ........................................................................................................................................................... 8 1. Versehentlicher Raketenangriff heftigen Ausschreitungen bei Protesten in Gaza Israels Armee geht inzwischen davon aus, dass die gegen die hohen Lebenshaltungskosten und die zwei Raketen des Typs M-75 Fajr, eine Langstre- hohen Steuergelder, die die Hamas den Palästinen- ckenrakete aus iranischen Werkstätten, die Tel Aviv sern abverlangt. Demonstrant_innen steckten Auto- für einige Minuten den Atem anhalten ließen, unbe- reifen in Brand und blockierten Straßenkreuzungen. absichtigt abgefeuert wurden. Das Militär reagierte Die Sicherheitsbeamten der Hamas reagierten mit mit rund 100 Luftangriffen auf zumeist militärische harter Hand. Mehrere Menschen mussten mit Ver- Anlagen der Hamas. Vier Menschen trugen bei den letzungen ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert
    [Show full text]
  • A Guide to Burial in Israel for US Members
    A Guide to Burial in Israel for US Members 1 Contents • Introduction 4 • Why Israel? 5 • Eretz Hachaim Cemetery 6 • Costs for a Funeral in the US Section at Eretz Hachaim Cemetery 7 • Purchasing a Plot at Eretz Hachaim Cemetery 7 • Transporting the Deceased to Israel 9 • Funeral & Burial Services 9 • Cemetery Maintenance Fee 9 • United Synagogue Members who have made Aliyah 10 • Israeli Funerals 10 • Sitting Shiva in Israel 11 • Choosing a Stone 12 • Stone Settings 14 • Halacha - While the Deceased is in Transit 14 • Useful Contact Details 15 • Glossary of Hebrew Terms 18 • Further Reading 19 2 3 Introduction Why Israel? Buying a burial plot can be an emotional act. Whether you are The place where we choose to be buried says much about the meaning purchasing one for yourself or for the burial of a loved one, we at the of our lives. Choosing to be buried as a Jew in any country is a United Synagogue wish you and your family strength, and Arichut declaration of our faith and loyalties. Purchasing a plot in Israel further Yamim as you embark on this process. links our destiny to the Jewish people, its land and its faith. At the outset of our nation, Abraham purchases a burial place for his wife Sarah at This booklet is a practical and halachic guide to the process of buying the Cave of Machpela in Hebron marking the start of a distinctive family a burial plot in Israel with the US and for arranging a funeral and stone tradition which would emerge into a nation with a profound connection setting there.
    [Show full text]
  • Likud Places a Strong Emphasis on Security and Presents
    IDEOLOGICAL STATED POLITICAL POSITIONS PARTY PARTY LEADER ORIENTATION AND KEY FACTS Likud Benjamin Netanyahu Right Likud places a strong emphasis on security (Prime Minister) and presents Prime Minister Netanyahu as the only viable leader with a proven track record on security. Netanyahu has been on record in 2009 in support of the two-state solution although more recently he has displayed ambivalence. The party has a fiscally conservative economic agenda, though this is secondary to security-diplomatic issues. United Right Rafi Peretz Right Comprised of Jewish Home, the National Union, and Jewish Power, the party includes religious-Zionists and territorial nationalists, is staunchly opposed to a Palestinian state, and actively promotes the expansion of settlements and Israeli annexation of Area C in the West Bank. In December 2018, party leader Naftali Bennett announced he and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked would be leaving to form The New Right. In February 2019, the Jewish Home formed a technical merger with Jewish Power, who are adherents to the teachings of Meir Kahane. Kahane’s party Kach were banned from the Knesset in the 1980s for racism. Hayemin Hachadash Naftali Bennett Right New party formed by former Jewish Home (Education Minister) & (The New Right) ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Ayelet Shaked Shaked due to their long-held ambition to (Justice Minister) win more secular, middle-class Israeli voters – a mission hampered by Jewish Home’s affiliation with the National- Religious sector and the influence of settler Rabbis. Bennett and Shaked are opposed to a two- state solution, support the expansion of settlements and Israeli annexation of Area C in the West Bank Yisrael Beiteinu Avigdor Lieberman Right Nationalist party dominated by its leader, (former Defence (Israel is our home) Avigdor Lieberman.
    [Show full text]
  • Inequality, Identity, and the Long-Run Evolution of Political Cleavages in Israel 1949-2019
    WID.world WORKING PAPER N° 2020/17 Inequality, Identity, and the Long-Run Evolution of Political Cleavages in Israel 1949-2019 Yonatan Berman August 2020 Inequality, Identity, and the Long-Run Evolution of Political Cleavages in Israel 1949{2019 Yonatan Berman∗ y August 20, 2020 Abstract This paper draws on pre- and post-election surveys to address the long run evolution of vot- ing patterns in Israel from 1949 to 2019. The heterogeneous ethnic, cultural, educational, and religious backgrounds of Israelis created a range of political cleavages that evolved throughout its history and continue to shape its political climate and its society today. De- spite Israel's exceptional characteristics, we find similar patterns to those found for France, the UK and the US. Notably, we find that in the 1960s{1970s, the vote for left-wing parties was associated with lower social class voters. It has gradually become associated with high social class voters during the late 1970s and later. We also find a weak inter-relationship between inequality and political outcomes, suggesting that despite the social class cleavage, identity-based or \tribal" voting is still dominant in Israeli politics. Keywords: Political cleavages, Political economy, Income inequality, Israel ∗London Mathematical Laboratory, The Graduate Center and Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, City University of New York, [email protected] yI wish to thank Itai Artzi, Dror Feitelson, Amory Gethin, Clara Mart´ınez-Toledano, and Thomas Piketty for helpful discussions and comments, and to Leah Ashuah and Raz Blanero from Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality for historical data on parliamentary elections in Tel Aviv.
    [Show full text]
  • INTEGRATING ARAB and JEWISH STUDENTS in COLLEGES in ISRAEL: OHALO COLLEGE AS a CASE STUDY Saleh Kharanbeh Ohalo College ABSTRACT
    International Journal of Asian History, Culture and Tradition Vol.5, No.2, pp.18-31, June 2018 ___Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org) INTEGRATING ARAB AND JEWISH STUDENTS IN COLLEGES IN ISRAEL: OHALO COLLEGE AS A CASE STUDY Saleh Kharanbeh Ohalo College ABSTRACT: The present article attempts to check the possibility of integrating Arab and Jewish students in colleges in the state, the current integration at Ohalo College is used as a case study. Participants comprised thirty Jewish and Arab, male and female students at Ohalo College in Katzrin, Israel. The current study investigated whether such integration can promote peace between Jews and Arabs. Aspiration for peace is a significant value of life in Israel, and it appears in various contexts and in political discussions. Peace promotes tolerance, prevents violence, and creates dialogue among the parties. Education for peace, which is expressed in integrating Jewish and Arab students, increases the value of higher education in general and the value of education for the Arab community, in particular, due to the inferior status Arabs in the state.The current study discusses the existing types of integration besides the integration possibilities in various academic institutions along with the hardships and obstacles that prevent Arab students from integrating as equals in the Jewish community. KEYWORDS: Arab Student, Jewish Student, Peace, Israel INTRODUCTION Historical Background The question of why there is need for integrating Arab and Jewish students in colleges in Israel and the historical background of such a need will be discussed. The hard situation of Arab citizens in Israel stems from their inferior position as an ethnic minority.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel Elections 2019 Update
    Israel Elections 2019 Update September 10, 2019 With no party succeeding in forming a government following the elections that took place in Israel in April, 2019, a brand new election will now take place next week, on September 17. JFNA is pleased to present the following backgrounder summarizing what has occurred, and what may happen in the coming weeks and months. JFNA has also prepared a background briefing on why a second round of elections are taking place – which can be seen here, as well as a paper on how Israeli elections work. Elections: Round Two Perhaps the most crucial take away from the backgrounder papers (linked above) is that in practice, Israeli elections have two “stages.” The first - the actual elections - occurs when the population elects the 120-members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. Those are the national elections, but once the results of these elections are known, we don’t always have a clear picture of who will lead the country. This only occurs during what we can call a “second stage” when a potential prime minister seeks to form a governing majority coalition of at least 61, from among those 120 newly elected MKs (represented through their parties). September 2019’s theme: Mergers In the months that have passed since second elections were called, there has been little, if any, debate about policy or major issues of substance; or even discussions about personality. Instead, the focus has been on tactics, strategy and coalition building. So, in many ways, the September 2019 look like a redo of the elections that took place in April.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel's Do-Over Election
    Your Shabbat source of Israeli News– September 6th 2019 Israel’s Do -over Election: A Guide to All the Parties Israeli politics has been reshaped by new alliances after the entire political firmament learned a harsh lesson from the April election just five months earlier: Unity among ideological allies is crucial. Smaller parties flying solo learned the hard way that independence meant risk falling below the electoral threshold and not making it into the Knesset. By doing so, they not only hurt themselves but mortally wound their entire political camp by “wasting” votes that could help them build a bloc large enough to construct a government. With only nine parties seemingly in a position to cross the electoral threshold, the next Knesset is set to feature the fewest number of parties in Israel’s history. Here are the main contenders: • Likud: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - fighting a second re-election campaign under the shadow of pending corruption indictments, moved early to reinforce Likud by merging it with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon’s party giving himself one less party to wrestle with in governing coalition negotiations. Later in the race, he convinced Moshe Feiglin, leader of the far-right Zehut party, to pull out of the elections in order to give larger right-wing parties the precious votes he was taking. In exchange, Feiglin was promised a ministry in a future Likud-led government. • Kahol Lavan: The largest of the multi-party players in the race, Kahol Lavan has continued with its four man alliance formed ahead of the April election.
    [Show full text]
  • February 26 2020 Netanyahu and Gantz Have Reversed Their Roles
    Israel and the Middle East News Update Wednesday, February 26 Headlines: • Israel Form Agency to Prepare for Violence if Settlements Are Annexed • Ex-Mossad Chief: Threat from Gaza Worse Now Than During 2014 War • UN Calls for Two State Solution to be Respected in Middle East • Netanyahu, Ashkenazi Accuse Each Other of Lying, Getting Personal • Netanyahu Associate Hires Intel Firm to Dig Up Dirt on Gantz • 2020 Candidates Debate Reversing Relocation of U.S. Embassy in Israel • Pence, Pompeo to Speak at AIPAC Policy Conference • Egypt Declares Three Days of Mourning for Mubarak Commentary: • Ha’aretz: “These 50,000 Israelis Can Send Netanyahu Packing Next Week” - By Anshel Pfeffer, commentator at Ha’aretz • Yedioth Ahronoth: “Netanyahu and Gantz have Reversed Their Roles” - By Yuval Karny, commentator at Yedioth Ahronoth S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor News Excerpts February 26, 2020 Ha’aretz Israel Form Agency to Prepare for Violence if Settlements Are Annexed The defense establishment has begun preparing for escalating civil and military unrest should the state impose Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements in the wake of next week's election. The Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Police, the Shin Bet security service and other defense agencies, together with representatives from government ministries, have begun to establish a joint body to coordinate a unified response in the event of a major outbreak of violence in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and other fronts. The scenarios the body is preparing for include major terror attacks in the West Bank and inside Israel; Palestinians breaking into West Bank settlements.
    [Show full text]
  • Aliyah and the Ingathering of Exiles: Jewish Immigration to Israel
    Aliyah and the Ingathering of Exiles: Jewish Immigration to Israel Corinne Cath Thesis Bachelor Cultural Anthropology 2011 Aliyah and the Ingathering of Exiles: Jewish immigration to Israel Aliyah and the Ingathering of Exiles: Jewish Immigration to Israel Thesis Bachelor Cultural Anthropology 2011 Corinne Cath 3337316 C,[email protected] Supervisor: F. Jara-Gomez Aliyah and the Ingathering of Exiles: Jewish immigration to Israel This thesis is dedicated to my grandfather Kees Cath and my grandmother Corinne De Beaufort, whose resilience and wits are an inspiration always. Aliyah and the Ingathering of Exiles: Jewish immigration to Israel Table of Contents Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... 4 General Introduction ............................................................................................. 5 1.Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................... 8 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 8 1.1 Anthropology and the Nation-State ........................................................................ 10 The Nation ........................................................................................................ 10 States and Nation-States ................................................................................... 11 Nationalism ......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Benny Gantz's Year in Politics: Netanyahu's Complete Opposite Inches Closer to PM Seat
    Benny Gantz's Year in Politics: Netanyahu's Complete Opposite Inches Closer to PM Seat Gantz almost quit after the Iranians hacked his phone – but quickly learned to navigate Israeli politics By Chaim Levinson Jan 04, 2020 On December 27, 2018 at 2:38 P.M., public relations consultant Itay Ben Horin issued a terse message that in retrospect marked the beginning of political whirlwind that Israel finds itself in: “This is to announce that a short time ago, Benny Gantz’s Israel Resilience Party was registered. Details to follow.” Exactly a year later, it’s possible to characterize the political conduct of this former army chief of staff. This relaxed man, who at first glance would appear to be light-years from the political cunning characterizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has become the first person since Ehud Barak in 1999 to threaten the prime minister politically. On the current political map, Gantz is the person closest to becoming Israel’s next prime minister. Gantz is no Netanyahu. In fact he’s Netanyahu’s opposite, which is also the secret of his power. Voters who are sick of Netanyahu and who have switched parties with every election have jumped on his bandwagon. Gantz’s political behavior is deceiving. Netanyahu is passionate about politics. Gantz can’t stand politics. Netanyahu jumps from one intrigue to the next, from plan to plan, based on the latest news flash. Gantz is organized. Gantz during a meeting of his party, Kahol Lavan, in December 2019. Tomer Appelbaum A palpable difference The difference between the two is palpable from the very first encounter.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel׳S Classroom Wars
    s Classroom׳Israel Wars The religious right’s attempt to overtake secular education in Israel June 2017 Israel’s Classroom Wars 2 In June 2017, Molad published an in-depth report on the infiltration of religious nonprofit organizations - ideologically affiliated with the religious right and politically aligned with the Jewish Home party – into Israel’s State school system. The report was covered extensively in the Israeli press and generated a heated public debate. While the report itself is currently available only in Hebrew, the following introduction provides relevant context and analysis. The introduction is followed by some key findings from the report. Introduction „They will take over the children, and far removed from current habits, which their parents possess, they will bring them up in their own ways and laws„ Plato, Republic1 This report is the outcome of an investigation by Molad into the means by which a small group of Israelis – who see themselves as the country’s spiritual and political avant-garde – have undertaken to reshape the national, cultural, moral and civic identity of the general Jewish public in Israel to suit their worldview. To that end, this group has chosen the State school system (i.e., the general public schools, attended by 60% of students) as the target of an organized takeover, which it justifies on the grounds that the children of the secular majority in Israel are suffering from an alarming depletion of values and identity2. Based on a simplistic, superficial understanding of global trends and processes within Israeli society, many on the religious right assume that Jewish identity and Israeli patriotism cannot be sustained without the ideological foundations of religious Zionism.
    [Show full text]
  • Of Religious-Zionists Within Israeli Society: the Pre-Military Academy As
    SOCIAL IDENTITIES, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504630.2016.1175931 The ‘immunized integration’ of Religious-Zionists within Israeli society: the pre-military academy as an institutional model Udi Lebel Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY The article examines the process of establishment of pre-military Received 23 October 2015 academies amongst Religious-Zionist society in Israel. The Accepted 5 April 2016 phenomenon is discussed as a transition from a model of a KEYWORDS gated community to an ‘immunized’ community. Through Pre-military academies; institutionalization of psycho-social ideological preparation, the ‘immunitas-communitas’; community leadership is trying to ensure that community gated community; epistemic members maintain their identity and loyalty when they integrate community; military; Israel into general society. The article rests on analysis of the discourse of the community’s epistemic leadership – mainly rabbis and leaders of the settler movement. It contributes to the perception of the pre-military academies as institutions that are Religious- Zionist launching pads for senior positions in the IDF and pipelines for future leadership of Israeli society. At the same time, they are a means of ensuring that Religious-Zionists will integrate within Israel society, not through assimilation and dissolution, but rather with cultural and ideological commitment to their community of origin. The article also discusses the development of other similar ‘immunizing’ institutions that aim to facilitate integration of Religious-Zionists in spheres other than the military. These developments are presented as an attempt on the part of the community leadership to maintain its status and relevance, in view of the younger generation’s desire to break out of the gated community boundaries.
    [Show full text]