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The Role of Ultra-Orthodox Political Parties in Israeli Democracy

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The Role of Ultra-Orthodox Political Parties in Israeli Democracy Luke Howson University of Liverpool The Role of Ultra-Orthodox Political Parties in Israeli Democracy Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy By Luke Howson July 2014 Committee: Clive Jones, BA (Hons) MA, PhD Prof Jon Tonge, PhD 1 Luke Howson University of Liverpool © 2014 Luke Howson All Rights Reserved 2 Luke Howson University of Liverpool Abstract This thesis focuses on the role of ultra-orthodox party Shas within the Israeli state as a means to explore wider themes and divisions in Israeli society. Without underestimating the significance of security and conflict within the structure of the Israeli state, in this thesis the Arab–Jewish relationship is viewed as just one important cleavage within the Israeli state. Instead of focusing on this single cleavage, this thesis explores the complex structure of cleavages at the heart of the Israeli political system. It introduces the concept of a ‘cleavage pyramid’, whereby divisions are of different saliency to different groups. At the top of the pyramid is division between Arabs and Jews, but one rung down from this are the intra-Jewish divisions, be they religious, ethnic or political in nature. In the case of Shas, the religious and ethnic elements are the most salient. The secular–religious divide is a key fault line in Israel and one in which ultra-orthodox parties like Shas are at the forefront. They and their politically secular counterparts form a key division in Israel, and an exploration of Shas is an insightful means of exploring this division further, its history and causes, and how these groups interact politically. Focusing on Shas can also shine a light on the intra-Jewish ethnic politics of Israel. Many of these divisions rest on the history of the Israeli state and the failure of the early state and its Zionist pioneers to create the society they envisioned – a unified, civic-nationalist state with an ethnic but not religious Jewish identity. The ultra-orthodox in Israel represent a self-isolating community whose interaction with the state – while paradoxical in seeking distance from the state – has become that of a sophisticated political actor. 3 Luke Howson University of Liverpool Dedication: To my parents, and Erika for her patience 4 Luke Howson University of Liverpool Acknowledgements: I would like to thank family and friends for their support and assistance during the completion of this thesis, which has admittedly been a long time in the making. I would like to thank my parents in particular for their support, especially their encouragement through times of financial difficulty. Most importantly, I would like to thank them for at no time pointing out what a ridiculous idea it was to do this in the first place. Much of the credit for the completion of this doctorate must rest with Professor Erika Harris, without whom it is likely that I would never have completed this. She has shown incredible patience with me and seemed to know what I was doing even when I did not. I would also like to thank her for the countless hours she has sat in front of a computer screen in despair trying to correct my spelling mistakes and grammar. I have no doubt that she will have corrected something in this very acknowledgement. I would also like to thank Liverpool Guild of Students for keeping me employed during this period and allowing me to work on my PhD while I was really supposed to be in work. I would like to thank the Politics department and especially Professor Richard Gillespie for keeping me gainfully employed in this period and allowing me to get some practical experience of teaching and all its various components. 5 Luke Howson University of Liverpool Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... 6 List of Tables and Graphs ........................................................................................................................ 9 List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. 10 Table 1: Governments of Israel and Ultra-Orthodox Parties’ Electoral Results 1984–2013 ................ 11 Introductory Note ................................................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 1: Methodology, Categorisation and Historical Background .................................................. 15 1) Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 16 Defining the Research Question ................................................................................................... 16 Epistemology ................................................................................................................................. 19 Research Methods ........................................................................................................................ 22 The Conceptual Framework .......................................................................................................... 29 2) Categorisation of Religious Parties, Affiliations and Terms .......................................................... 40 Haredi/Ultra-Orthodox ................................................................................................................. 41 Orthodox and Modern Orthodox .................................................................................................. 42 Religious Zionism .......................................................................................................................... 42 Traditional ..................................................................................................................................... 44 Secular 45 3) A History of Israeli Religious Parties ............................................................................................. 46 The National Religious Party (NRP) ............................................................................................... 46 Agudat Israel (AI)........................................................................................................................... 48 The Early Zionist State and the ‘Status Quo’ Agreement ............................................................. 49 Chapter 2: Democracy: The Function, the Procedure and the Assessment ......................................... 54 1) Defining Democracy ...................................................................................................................... 55 Civil Society ................................................................................................................................... 59 Assessing the Quality of Democracy ............................................................................................. 62 Hybrid Regimes ............................................................................................................................. 69 2) Contextualising Israeli Democracy ................................................................................................ 75 Israel in Comparative Perspective ................................................................................................ 76 Israeli Democracy in Isolation ....................................................................................................... 79 3) The Ethnic Regime Type ................................................................................................................ 92 Herrenvolk Democracy ................................................................................................................. 94 6 Luke Howson University of Liverpool Ethnocracy .................................................................................................................................... 95 Ethnic Democracy ......................................................................................................................... 99 The Arab Experience in Israel...................................................................................................... 102 Israel and Democracy: A Summary ................................................................................................. 106 Chapter 3: Religion and Ethnicity in Divided Societies: Theoretical Perspective ............................... 110 1) Religion and Democracy ......................................................................................................... 111 The Relationship between Ethnicity and Religion ...................................................................... 112 Religion and Political Behaviour ................................................................................................. 114 Religion and Democracy ............................................................................................................. 116 2) Ethnicity and Democracy ............................................................................................................ 119 Ethnicity Identity and its Effect on Political Behaviour ............................................................... 119 Ethnicity, Democracy and Conflict .............................................................................................. 126 Variables in the Saliency of Ethnic
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