The National-Religious Party, the Rabbinate, and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process: Principle and Pragmatism in Religious-Zionist Statecraft (1974–1977) A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Yehudah Mirsky, Advisor Ilan Troen, Advisor In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Ari Moshkovski February 2021 The signed version of this form is on file in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. This dissertation, directed and approved by Ari Moshkovski’s Committee, has been accepted and approved by the Faculty of Brandeis University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of: DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Eric Chasalow, Dean Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Committee: Yehudah Mirsky, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Ilan Troen, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Arye Naor, Public Policy and Administration, Ben Gurion University of the Negev Copyright by Ari Moshkovski 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS עמ״י ע ש ״ ו After years of study, research, and writing, I now face the happy task of recognizing those who enabled me to complete this dissertation. The education I received at Queens College, CUNY continues to serve me in good stead. I thank all my instructors, and acknowledge Kristina Richardson, Miryam Segal, Julia Sneeringer, and Bobby Wintermute for preparing me for the rigors of post-graduate studies. Studying and working with Mark Rosenblum was the centerpiece of my experience at Queens. I thank Prof. Rosenblum for supervising my master’s thesis, for the adventures, and for the comic relief. I fondly acknowledge Steven Appel, Sophia McGee, and Batya Septimus, my colleagues and co-conspirators at the CERRU. The Schusterman Center for Israel Studies has been my academic home at Brandeis University, and I am indebted to the faculty, staff, and patrons who have built and sustained this vibrant institution. The Center provided a generous fellowship as well as the fellowship of valued colleagues and friends. I wish to acknowledge Aviv Ben-Or, Robert DeBoard, Rachel Fish, Iddo Haklai, Susanna Klosko, Gangzheng “Almog” She, Karen Spira, and Jason Olson. I thank Amber Taylor for her good cheer and thoughtful insights, and I am indebted to Eva Gurevich for her collaboration, friendship, and faithful guardianship of my books. It was both a privilege and a pleasure to have Mostafa Hussain as my “neighbor.” The Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies (NEJS) provided a rigorous post- graduate education. I thank Jonathan Decter, ChaeRan Freeze, Eugene Sheppard, and Ilana Szobel for their assistance as Directors of Graduate Studies. I am especially grateful to Ellen iv Kellman for examining me in Yiddish and to Naghmeh Sohrabi for examining me in the history of the modern Middle East. Joanne Arnish made everything work. My studies at Brandies were greatly enriched by visiting faculty. Uri Bialer broadened my perspective on Israeli foreign policy. Abdel Monem Said Aly and Khalil Shikaki, together with Shai Feldman, co-taught an inimitable course on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Michael Feige, z”l, was a unique educator and scholar whose door was always open. He is deeply missed. Tuvia Friling’s expert tutelage in archival methods prepared me for the challenges of dissertation research. This research was made possible by The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, NEJS, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Brandeis University. I am particularly grateful to Dr. Mitchell Bard, Executive Director of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise for a generous AICE/Schusterman Israel Scholar Award. I am profoundly grateful to Dzintra Lacis and her team at Goldfarb Library, who provided herculean research support. I also acknowledge the archivists and staff at the Israel State Archive, the National Library of Israel, the Kfar Etzion Archive, the library at Yeshivat Har Etzion, and the Archive of Religious Zionism at Bar Ilan University. I thank Aliza Adelman, Shifra Mescheloff, and Rachel Vermus for providing otherwise-inaccessible primary sources. I am truly fortunate to have Ilan Troen and Yehudah Mirsky as my dissertation advisors. Prof. Troen has been my teacher and mentor since I arrived at Brandeis, if not before. Prof. Troen has expertly guided and prodded me throughout my studies, encouraging me to explore my interests while providing a solid foundation in Israel Studies. I thank Prof. Troen for the tenacity of his mentorship. v Yehudah Mirsky has been a dedicated teacher of Jewish law and lore, Zionism, and political philosophy, enabling and encouraging me to explore the connections between these subjects by generously sharing his unique expertise and experience. I have benefitted greatly from Prof. Mirsky’s counsel and encouragement, and am indebted to him for telling me what I needed to hear, always be-darkhei no’am, especially when it was difficult to hear. The first flowerings of this dissertation began during my undergraduate studies at Queens College, when first I picked up a copy Religion and Politics in Israel by Charles Liebman and Eliezer Don-Yehiya. It was a thrill, then, to have Prof. Don-Yehiya on my dissertation committee. I am grateful to Prof. Don-Yehiya for suggesting avenues of inquiry that shaped this dissertation, and for his insightful comments on the early chapters. Although Eliezer, z”l, passed away in December 2018, his lasting impact is evident in the pages that follow. I give special thanks to Arye Naor for joining my dissertation committee in midstream. Professor Naor read this dissertation with great care, offering prescient comments, critiques, and suggestions. These insights have already enhanced my work, and I look forward to discussing them further with Prof. Naor as I develop this project. The comradery, hospitality, and encouragement of friends were essential in completing this endeavor. Among many others, I am grateful to The Borvicks, Moshe and Dr. Shayna Bernstein, Evan and Tova Levine, Sampath Rathnayaka, Lydia and Marcus Rosenberg, and Esther and Shalom Tzvi Shafier. I am profoundly grateful to my family for their enduring love, encouragement, and support. My grandparents, Bela and Hillel Moshkovski, z”l, personified resilience, determination, and a commitment to learning; their memory remains a source of strength and inspiration. My siblings, Reuven and Miriam, were my first traveling companions on the journey vi of life, and we are blessed to have Moshe along for the ride. The recent arrival of my niece, Bella Rina, was a source of great joy as this dissertation neared completion. It has been inspiring (and entertaining) to see my nephew, Netanel Hillel (aka, “Nate”), meet each day with excitement, curiosity, and pancakes. I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Dror and Dr. Francine Moshkovski, in appreciation of their enduring love and support. Ari Moshkovski Jerusalem, 2021 vii ABSTRACT The National-Religious Party, the Rabbinate, and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process: Principle and Pragmatism in Religious-Zionist Statecraft (1974–1977) A dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts By Ari Moshkovski This dissertation investigates the involvement of the Israeli National-Religious Party (NRP) in the Arab-Israeli peace process between 1974 and 1977. This peace process, orchestrated by U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger, catalyzed processes of change within the “National-Religious,” or “religious-Zionist,” camp. Yet, studies of religious-Zionism during this period overlook the movement’s elected political leadership- the NRP- in favor of the Gush Emunim settlement movement and related ideological developments. Similarly, the historiography of the post-1973 peace process overlooks the NRP’s involvement, despite the party’s critical role in Israeli coalition governance, and the outsized influence of coalition politics on Israeli foreign policy. I address these lacunae through a historical study of NRP politicians and their interlocutors between 1974 and 1977. Using a variety of primary sources, this study illuminates the inter-causal relationships between the American-mediated peace process, the escalation of viii inter-factional competition within the NRP, and the deterioration of the Historic Alliance with Labor. Kissinger’s diplomacy raised the prospect of territorial withdrawal and presented the government with decisions germane to the disposition of the West Bank. Concomitantly, the NRP Zeirim- an insurgent youth faction- escalated their struggle against the party’s “Old Guard” leadership and its coalition partnership with Labor. While pragmatic, material considerations informed the NRP leadership’s practice of statecraft, the Zeirim stressed adherence to religious principles and opposed ceding sacred ground in the West Bank. Hoping to pacify the Zeirim, the Old Guard reached accommodations with Labor during coalition talks and cabinet deliberations, thereby avoiding fateful decisions over the West Bank. These accommodations constrained the Rabin government’s diplomacy, and steered the peace process away from the West Bank, toward an accord with Egypt. The Zeirim, though, continued their struggle and expanded their influence by joining the cabinet and coopting parts of the Old Guard. Taking a hard line in the name of religious principles, the Zeirim confronted both Labor and the NRP leadership over