Religious Zionism in Israel Today: 12 Toward the Center
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Religious Zionism in Israel Today: 12 Toward the Center One ongoing topic of political and social discussion community has an outsized impact on Israeli in Israel today is the changing character of public life. It has spearheaded the movement to leadership, or of the "elites." This change is thought settle Judea and Samaria (that is, the occupied to occur in regard to both the governing elites and territories of the West Bank), and today its the leadership in other crucial spheres, such as the members make up a very sizable portion of the military and the media. To the extent that this IDF’s officer corps (in combat units they make change is occurring it is consequential because it up over a third of the officers). Moreover, in the will be bound up with changes in policy, and in current government they control three ministries, behavior and substance. In this chapter we will two of which have an important impact on general focus upon one population sector involved in Israeli public life – the Ministry of Education and these processes – the Religious Zionist sector*. the Ministry of Justice. Just as important, for the This sector, for the most part, carries its own first time in the history of the state, three of the approach to Zionism and Jewish nationalism, most senior positions in the security and defense and, as we shall see, is eager to exercise moral and establishment – Head of the Mossad, Head of political influence and leadership. General Security Service (Shin Bet), and Chief of As commonly defined, the Religious Zionist Police are held by people who were raised in the community constitutes about 10-12 percent of Religious Zionist community. the population1, however, according to a recent Religious Zionism arose and developed as an survey, this community comprises about one fifth attempt to integrate Orthodox Judaism and of the Jewish population.2 modern nationalism. Within this framework, Despite its small size, the Religious Zionist Religious Zionists view the flourishing of the Jewish the jewish people policy institute 137 people, the State of Israel, and the control and noteworthy because it partially reverses the trend settlement of the Land of Israel as essential parts that has characterized Religious Zionism for the of the religious way of life they are committed to. past generation or so. The first development is the increased As Religious Zionism presents a public image that crystallization of the drive to have an impact is less sectarian and stringently religious, its integral upon, and even lead, the political, cultural, and nationalist agenda and nationalist leadership can moral life of Israel. Religious Zionism constitutes become more generally acceptable. This trend also an alternative, integral formulation of Jewish finds expression in the attempt to appoint non- nationalism, which is different from, and even observant representatives of the Jewish Home opposed to, liberal formulations insofar as it Party to the Knesset and the Government. tends to give priority to collective belonging and collective goals over individual goals, needs, and ambitions. Religious Zionist moral and political Part I - The Drive Toward Political leadership would aim to strengthen the Jewish and Moral Leadership nationalist character of the State of Israel and its The drive toward moral and political leadership attachment to the Greater Land of Israel. Currently, is a long-term trend in Religious Zionism and the Religious Zionist community aims to exercise essentially grows out of the fundamental identity this leadership through its prominence in the dilemma that characterizes this sector. This military, through its control of the Education and dilemma derives from the confrontation of Justice Ministries and the policies and legislation traditional Orthodox Jews with modern Jewish they initiate and implement, and through grass nationalism as the organizing principle of Jewish roots efforts at education and local communal life. Those groups that carried the Jewish religion leadership. as the organizing principle of Jewish life can react In addition to the attempt at leadership to this challenge in one of the following ways: implemented through the Jewish Home Party and One can oppose and reject modern Jewish organizations fully identified with the Religious nationalism. Zionist sector, the Religious Zionist public also One can assign to it a limited instrumental attempts to exercise leadership through the ruling meaning and thereby attempt to enable it to Likud Party. coexist with traditional Judaism. A second development is that there has been a One can attempt to effect an integration and reduction in religiosity among part of the Religious unification of religion and modern nationalism. It Zionist public. While this development has only should be stressed that this is not a return to the fully affected part of the community, it has had a traditional conflation of religion and peoplehood good deal of public visibility and discussion. It is (though its proponents sometimes want to 138 the jewish people policy institute present it as such), but an attempt to integrate building, such as politics, settlement, defense and religion with the ideas of modern nationalism and economic and cultural production.4 its institutional structures such as the modern The most definitive expression, of this initial drive nation-state. to morally and politically lead the entire state of The response of Religious Zionism has been Israel was the project of the incorporation and to integrate and unify traditional Orthodox settlement of the Greater Land of Israel. Though Judaism with modern nationalism. This the Religious Zionist community provided attempt at integration has been gradual the most active elements in this project and and long term. In the first stage, the Religious elaborated its ideological formulation, it did not Zionist implemented the unification of religion conceive of it as a project of the Religious Zionist and nationalism at the local and communal sector alone. On the contrary, they conceived level – especially in Religious Zionist kibbutzim of it as expressing the inner, general will of the and moshavim. It was only in the late 1950s entire nation. With the accession of the Likud that they started to think about implementing government in 1977, the settlement of the Greater it on the state-wide political level as well, with Land of Israel became official government policy. the emergence of “the generation of the state,” who were organized into the Young Mizrachi The Disengagement from Gaza Faction within the National Religious Party. This generation was socialized after the creation of the and the Face-to-Face Project state in 1948 with the state educational system Despite this ambition to influence national life and the IDF playing decisive roles. In the late 1950s, and policy, and to exercise moral and political the Young Mizrachi faction began to think about leadership, the National Religious sector was also Religious Zionism not as minor partner to Mapai, characterized by other, contrasting tendencies. which politically and ideologically led the Israeli These tendencies, which attracted a great deal state and society, but as an alternative to Mapai of media and academic attention, consisted of (or part of an alternative) with a different political strengthening the religious commitments and and ideological vision, one that married religion behaviors of the Religious Zionist public and and nationalism.3 The contemporary Jewish Home adopting a more secluded and sectarian lifestyle. Party and its leadership continue this attempt to These behaviors stemmed from an outlook that unify religion and nationalism. was basically dialectical: The more the Religious This association with nationalism has resulted in Zionist public purified itself in terms of its religious a transformed Jewish theology. At the center of national lifestyle, the more salutary would its this theology stands the ascription of religious impact be on the general Israeli public. Ultimately, meaning to material, secular, pursuits and it envisioned a higher synthesis of religion and activities. Especially those constitutive of nation- nationalism in which both the religious and the jewish people policy institute 139 national components would be strong. Nevertheless, The fact that the Religious Zionist public found in day-to-day life, some members of Religious itself basically alone in its struggle against the Zionist community participated in a life style that government ordered dismantling of 17 settlements was removed from the general Jewish-Israeli one, and the evacuation of more than 8500 people in including living in exclusively national religious the 2005 disengagement from Gaza very much settlements and neighborhoods and enrolling reinforced the idea that its settlement policy and their children in the separate National Religious outlook had not “settled in the hearts” of the Israeli educational system. public. Thus, in the wake of the disengagement Members of the national religious public began to the idea of becoming more engaged with general question this approach in the 1990s with the advent Israeli society, more part of it, gained momentum. of the Oslo Accords, and, more generally, the rise and One aspect of this is gradual trend of integration strengthening of the "liberal citizenship discourse" into, and participation in, Israeli electronic media – and even more so in and arts. Along with the attempt to have a direct the wake of the Gaza impact,